Abstract
This paper mill was concerned with the anaerobic biodegradability of methanol, its by-products and the potential for gas stripping the system. A series of laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to evaluate the fate of methanol during anaerobic treatment. According to our research result, more than 99% of methanol contained in the condensate was biodegraded during anaerobic digestion. From an anaerobic digester batch test, the second order bio-degradation rate constant,k b2 , was estimated to range from 3.97×10−3 m3/g·day (when only condensate was fed) to 4.06×l0−2 m3/g·day (when condensate was fed at a proposed rate). The by-products from methanol degradation such as acetaldehyde, and methyl ethyl ketone, were degraded completely in 32 hours. Since the anaerobic treatment process has a retention time of 5 days, condensate by-products are believed to be completely biodegraded. The introduction of condensate into the existing anaerobic pretreatment process appears to improve the treatment efficiency, leading to a more stable anaerobic treatment as well as a reduced sludge generation in the aerobic wastewater treatment process due to the reduced organic loading.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA, AWWA and WEF, “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater”, 20th Edition 2540B (1998).
Chen, S. H., Dong, I, Berthouex, P. M. and Boyle, W. C., “Fate of Pentachlorophenol (PCP) in an Anaerobic Digester”,Water Environment Research,72(2), 201 (2000).
David, P. and Roland, B., “Isolation and Characterization of Arthrobacter SP. From Activated Sludge of a Pulp and Paper Mill”,Water Research,33(4), 947 (1999).
EPA regulation 749-F-94-013 (1994).
Hughes, D. E., “In Anaerobic Digestion”, Eds., Elseiver, Amsterdam, Netherlands,3 (1981).
MaCarty, P. L. and Smith, D. P., “Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment”,Environ. Sci. Technol,20(12), 1200 (1986).
Nishio, N, Roberto, G. S., Kazuhiko, H. and Shiro, N., “High Rate Methane Production in a UASB Reactor Fed with Methanol and Acetate”,Jour. Fermenation and Bioengineering,75(4), 309 (1993).
Parker, W. I., Farquhar, G. J. and Hall, E. R, “Removal of Chlorophenolics and Toxicity during High-Rate Anaerobic Treatment of Segregated Kraft Mill Bleach Plant Effluents”,Em. Sci. & Tech.,27(9), 1783 (1993).
Rintala, J., “High-rate Anaerobic Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters”,Wat. Sci. Tech.,24(1), 69 (1991).
Scheunert, I., Vockel, D., Schmitzer, J. and Korte, F, “Biomineralization Rates of 14C-Labeled Organic Chemicals in Aerobic and Anaerobic Suspended Soil”,Chemosphere,16, 1031 (1987).
Singh, K. S. and Vrrarghavan, T, “Performance of UASB Reactors at 6 to 32C for Municipal Wastewater Treatment”,Water Quality Research Journal of Canada,35(1), 113 (2000).
Speece, R. E., “A Survey of Municipal Anaerobic Sludge Digesters and Diagnostic Activity Assays”,Wat. Res.,22(3), 365 (1988).
Woods, S. L., Ferguson, J. F. and Benjamin, M. M., “Characterization of Chlorophenol and Chloromethoxybenzene Biodegradation during Anaerobic Treatment”,Environ. Sci. Technol.,23(1), 62 (1989).
Zafar, I. B., Furukawa, K. and Fujita, M., “Feasibility of Methanolic Waste Treatment in UASB Reactors”,Wat. Res.,30(11), 2559 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Park, JH., Park, JK. Fate of methanol in an anaerobic digester. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 20, 509–516 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02705557
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02705557