Effect of suspended solids removal methods on methane production from tapioca starch wastewater

• Main Authors: Thanapat Thepubon, Pairaya Choeisai, Pinthita Mungkarndee, Krit Choeisai, Kazuaki Syutsubo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Khon Kaen University 2020-03-01
• Series: Engineering and Applied Science Research
• Subjects: tapioca starch wastewater; suspended solids removal method; methane producing activity; biochemical methane potential
• Online Access: https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easr/article/download/203370/163667/
• ISSN: 2539-6161; 2539-6218

This study aims to evaluate methods for removing suspended solids (SS)from tapioca starch wastewater to increase methaneproducing activity (MPA) and biochemical methane potential (BMP).Three methods for SS removal, filtration, centrifugation, and settling, were compared usingraw wastewaterthathad a high SS concentration ofover 3,000 mg/L. Filtration was found to be the best method and itincreased theMPA by 44%while removing 100% of the SS. Centrifugation and gravity settling had substantial effects, increasing BMP by 7.7%and 6.1%and removing 98.4% and 15.5%of SS, respectively.While the SS concentration is the main factor fordeterminingthe success of an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) system,this study showedthat the carbohydrate toprotein ratio signifiesthatthe biochemical component of the wastewater is akey factor causing increases in MPA and BMP. The SS removal methods used in this study also led to higher carbohydrate/COD and protein/COD ratios, which can increase MPA and BMP values relative to conditionswhere SS removal is not performed.