On-site treatment of high-strength alcohol distillery wastewater by a pilot-scale thermophilic multi-staged UASB (MS-UASB) reactor

摘要

A pilot-scale multi-staged UASB (MS-UASB) reactor with a working volume of 2.5 m(3) was operated for thermophilic (55 degrees C) treatment of an alcohol distillery wastewater for a period of over 600 days. The reactor steadily achieved a super-high rate COD removal, that is, 60 kgCOD m(-3) d(-1) with over 80% COD removal. However, when higher organic loading rates were further imposed upon the reactor, that is, above 90 kgCOD m(-3) d(-1) for barely-based alcohol distillery wastewater (ADWW) and above 100 kgCOD m(-3) d(-1) for sweet potato-based ADWW, the reactor performance somewhat deteriorated to 60 and 70% COD removal, respectively.