Application of Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) for Polishing of Treated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)

Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is considered to be one of the most polluting wastewater in Malaysia due to its high concentration in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Discharge of this wastewater will increase the oxygen demand in water bodies and endanger the aquatic life and therefore interrupting the ecosystem in the river

Application of Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) for Polishing of Treated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)

Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is considered to be one of the most polluting wastewater in Malaysia due to its high concentration in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Discharge of this wastewater will increase the oxygen demand in water bodies and endanger the aquatic life and therefore interrupting the ecosystem in the river

Biodegradation of high-strength palm oil mill effluent (POME) through anaerobes partitioning in an integrated baffled reactor inoculated with anaerobic pond sludge

Performance of a laboratory-scale integrated baffled reactor for the treatment of raw palm oil mill effluent (POME) was investigated. Initially, the reactor was fed with diluted POME (COD=1,830 mg/L and OLR=0.46 g COD/L Day) which was then increased gradually to actual concentration (COD=45,500 mg/L and OLR=11.38 g COD/L Day). Reactor operation was studied in two different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (4 and 6 days) using POME with no effluent recycled feed and after alkalinity supplementation. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 79 and 83 % at an HRT of 4 and 6 days were attained at the highest organic loading rate (OLR=11.38 g COD/ L Day). The presence of Arcella-like and Metopus-like species and pH profile in the bioreactor’s compartments imply that anaerobic system is active in the reactor throughout the study. Use of methanogen-enriched inocula, smooth OLR augmentation, and appropriate separation of acidogens and methanogens in the reactor were the reasons for satisfactory performances of the system

Polishing of POME by Chlorella sp. in suspended and immobilized system

The effect of using suspended and immobilized growth of Chlorella sp. to treat POME was studied. Cotton and nylon ropes were used as the immobilization material in a rotating microalgae biofilm reactor. The result showed that POME treated in suspended growth system was able to remove 81.9% and 55.5% of the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) respectively. Whereas the immobilized system showed lower removal of 77.22% and 53.02% for TN and TP. Lower performance of immobilized microalgae is due to the limited light penetration and supply of CO2 inside the immobilization materials. The rotating microalgae biofilm reactor was able to reduce the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to 90 mg/L and chemical oxygen demand (COD) to 720 mg/L. Higher BOD and COD reading were obtained in suspended growth due to the presence of small number of microalgae cell in the samples. This study shows that suspended growth system is able to remove higher percentages of nitrogen and phosphorus. However, an efficient separation method such as membrane filtration is required to harvest the cultivated microalgae cell to avoid organic matter release into water bodies

The outlook of rural water supply in developing country: review on Sabah, Malaysia

This paper reviews the challenges in the water supply provision, water source availability and quality and the distribution approaches in rural Sabah. The main challenges to provide potable water in Sabah is the variance in terrain and geographical distance between populated regions. Review reveals that other than the river water, average annual precipitation of 3000 millimetres (mm) could be harvested for domestic and agricultural purposes. Numbers of aquifer uncovered in the eastern and western region of Sabah with underlying sandstone and Quaternary Alluvium have significant potential for groundwater reservoirs. Aquifer along the coastal areas and islands around Sabah also gives sufficient potable water supplies. Minimal pollutant content was found in all water sources and acceptable under the National Water Standard of Malaysia, except for contaminants coming from septic tanks and agricultural activities. A decentralized water system is more beneficial for Sabah’s rural areas. Smaller scaled plants are flexible to collect from any water sources and treat at the point of use. Expenditure is significantly decreased by a shorter distribution network and lower installation and maintenance cost. Nonetheless, the treatment utilized may be limited to a simpler process as semiskilled or un-skilled personnel will be required to operate and maintain the system

Point-of-use upflow sand filter for rural water treatment using natural local sand: Understanding and predicting pressure drop

A simple, small scale upflow sand filter was fabricated using a locally obtained sands at three different rivers in Sabah, Malaysia: Liwagu River (SL), Tamparuli River (ST), and Kaingaran River (SK). The grain size, porosity, bulk density, particle density and sphericity of the sands were characterized to associate with the corresponding pressure drop across the sand bed. The highest pressure drop per unit length for SK, PT, and SL are 15.85 kPa m-1 at 0.747 m s-1 vs, 10.18 kPa m-1 at 0.352 m s-1 vs, and 9.24 kPa m-1 at 0.747 m s-1 vs, respectively. The pressure drop per unit length at different filter bed depth were plotted, and compared against three theoretical models of Ergun, Kozeny-Carman, and Fair and Hatch. By analyzing the experimental-theoretical comparison using RMSE and Chi-Test, prediction of pressure drop in an upflow sand filter is able to be predicted using the Kozeny-Carman equation preceding filter bed fluidization and subsequently Fair and Hatch’s equation after bed is fluidized

Membrane processes for microalgae in carbonation and wastewater treatment

The objective of this work is to present the integration of membrane processes in the field of bioenergy resource and wastewater treatment using microalgae. There are two main processes involved: carbonation and separation, which were conducted and reported as a separated work within this chapter. The chapter begins with the introduction of membrane processes, followed by carbonation of microalgae and separation of biomass from the wastewater effluent. The experimental work on the carbonation aims to evaluate the effectiveness of hydrophobic hollow fibre membrane in transporting CO2 into microalgae culture and microalgae accumulation within the membrane. The experimental work on the separation process of microalgae biomass from the wastewater effluent on the other hand, aims to evaluate Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane capability in removing BOD and COD as well as its ability to retain microalgae biomass which were used by the turbidity reading of the membrane permeate. The application of hydrophobic membrane in the carbonation process has increased the carbonation efficiency up to 83% in comparison with the carbonation without membrane and only a small amount of mirage was accumulated within the membrane. The experimental result also shows that, the carbonised microalgae can be further used for wastewater treatment. Based on the result of separation process of microalgae biomass of wastewater effluent, the UF membrane utilization shows high separation efficiency in turbidity to lower than 5 Fau, and was able to facilitate in nutrient removal for less time required compared to the biological treatment without application of the membrane

Copper oxide anti-wax coating for petroleum pipelines

Background/Objectives: This research aims to study the efficacy of copper oxide as an anti-wax coating for petroleum pipelines. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Stainless steel was dipped into copper chloride and methanol solution before heating at 300 ᴼC. The performance of anti-wax deposition was determined using a self-fabricated wax deposition test. Reduction of wax deposition was determined by weight of wax deposited onto substrate. The surface morphology of the coating was studied to determine the factors of anti-wax deposition. Findings: The analyzed wax deposition reduction shows a maximum of 100% reduction of wax deposition, indicating that the copper oxide coating was able to act as an anti-wax coating. SEM analysis shows that the surface morphology of coating has a microstructure that plays an important role in improving the anti-wax performance of stainless steel surfaces. Application: Copper oxide coatings have shown potential for use in pipeline interiors in the petroleum industry to prevent wax deposition, which leads to pipeline blockage

Simulation of fermentation compounds for bioethanol production using different separating agents

This study focuses on the simulation of ethylene glycol (C2H6O2) – glycerol (C3H8O3) and ethylene glycol (C2H6O2) – calcium chloride (CaCl2) as separating agents in bioethanol production from fermentation effluent. The entire process was simulated using Aspen HYSYS V7.3 software, but the main focus is the extractive distillation where the mixture compounds were utilised. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the process variables in extractive distillation column with the separating agent ethylene glycol, temperature, solvent to feed molar ratio and reflux ratio. Non-random two-liquid (NRTL) model was used for activity coefficients of mixture from Aspen properties databank. Results show that both mixture compounds values on solvent to feed molar ratio, reflux ratio and reboiler energy consumption were slightly different as separating agent temperature maintained at 80 oC and ethanol composition in distillate was 99.89 mole%. The separating agents show that better ethanolwater separation with lower energy consumption compared with a well-known single compound such as ethylene glycol. Thus, this study is important to improve extractive distillation column operating conditions by studying the effect of mixture compounds as separating agents in bioethanol production

Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of sulfonated carbon-based catalysts derived from rubber tree leaves and pulp and paper mill waste

Sulfonated carbon-based catalysts derived from rubber tree leaves, and pulp and paper mill waste were synthesized and characterized. Three types of catalyst synthesized were sulfonated rubber tree leaves (S-RTL), pyrolysed sludge char (P-SC) and sulfonated sludge char (S-SC). Sulfonated rubber tree leaves (S-RTL) and sulfonated sludge char (S-SC) were prepared through pyrolysis followed by functionalization via sulfonation process whereas, P- SC was only pyrolyzed without sulfonation. The characterization results indicated sulfonic acids, hydroxyl, and carboxyl moieties were detected in S-RTL and S-SC, but no sulfonic acid was detected in P-SC. Total acidity test showed S-RTL had the highest value followed by S-SC and P-SC. The thermal stability of S-RTL and S-SC were up to 230oC as the loss was associated with the decomposition of sulfonic acid group, whereas, P-SC showed higher stability than the S-RTL and S-SC. Morphology analysis showed that S-RTL consisted of an amorphous carbon structure, and a crystalline structure for P-SC and S-SC. Furthermore, traces of metal components were also detected on all of the catalysts. The catalyst catalytic activity was tested through esterification of oleic acid with methanol. The results showed that the reaction using S-RTL catalyst produced the highest conversion (99.9%) followed by P-SC (88.4%) and lastly S-SC (82.7%). The synthesized catalysts showed high potential to be used in biodiesel production