Biosorption and mineralization of a dairy wastewater under sequential operation mode

Abstract

This work aimed to apply a sequential batch operation mode to promote the biomethanation of a real dairy wastewater enriched in fat. Three cycles were conducted with biomass previously acclimated to oleic acid. Soluble COD, VFA and methane content were analyzed in each cycle at different time intervals. The soluble COD removal efficiency improved slightly in each new feed and the total VFA levels detected decreased successively. The maximum cumulative methane production also improved from cycle 1 to cycle 3. These results contribute to support the idea that the key for the degradation of effluents with high lipid content is to sequence adsorption and degradation steps during the treatment process.