Anaerobic Treatment of Oily Wastewater Using A Biofilm-Electrode Reactor: A Kinetic Study And Energy Consumption

Abstract

The present study introduced a laboratory-scale, anaerobic treatment system for the removal of oil from synthetic wastewr using a biofilm-electrode reactor (BER). The operating parameters of current intensity, initial concentration, reaction time, and supporting electrolyte were investigated. The results of the present study showed that the optimal conditions were: a current intensity of 15 mA, COD concentration of 1500 mg/L, a reaction time of three days, and a supporting electrolyte (NaCl) of 150 mg/L. The highest efficiency for the removal of COD was 86.7% using the introduced method, while it was 65.9% using biological processes. Increased efficiency was attributed to the employment of the proposed bioelectrochemical system that stimulated bacterial growth. In the present study, the energy consumed by the bioelectrochemical system was 1.914 kWh/m3. The kinetic study indicated that the removal reaction was more consistent with the modified Stover-Kincannon model. The present study findings indicated that BER is a promising method for the treatment of oil-contaminated wastewaters.