Improving bio-treatability of alkoxylate wastewater treatment - a feasibility study

• Main Author: Lim, Edward Yan Huann
• Other Authors: Darren Sun Delai
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172790
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study focuses on investigating the utilization of MBR-UF for alkoxylate wastewater treatment, with a specific emphasis on enhancing biodegradability and overall treatment efficiency. A new approach, such as the incorporation of ammonium acetate as co-substrate within the MBR system, was explored to enhance the biodegradability of this wastewater. The research findings underscore the effectiveness of utilizing MBR-UF for the treatment of alkoxylate industrial wastewater, enriched with nutrients. While specific data on the removal of individual alkoxylate compounds are not provided in this study, there is a substantial collective reduction in these water quality parameters (BOD5, COD, TOC, TDS, and Conductivity), which collectively represent the removal of alkoxylates and other contaminants in the wastewater. Notably, the system exhibited exceptional overall reductions in all the key water quality parameters. In the experiment conducted without co-substrate, COD reductions of up to 97.38% were achieved, while the introduction of co-substrate pushed this reduction to 99.36%. Additionally, overall TOC reductions of 99.67% were observed without co-substrate, and 99.57% with co-substrate, lastly, a significant BOD5 reduction reaching up to 98.89% without co-substrate and 99.32% with co-substrate was achieved. While both experiment settings demonstrated exceptional overall removal efficiency, the experimental setting that incorporates the co-substrate displays superior removal efficiency for all the parameters tested, with the exception of TOC, which exhibits similar removal efficiency. The outcomes of this study will contribute to the field of biological treatment improvement, offering valuable insights that can influence the approach of wastewater engineers in controlling membrane fouling, as well as enhancing microbial activity to effectively degrade organic matters in wastewater treatment processes.