Abstract:
The present study was conducted to develop a compact aerobic and anaerobic wastewater
treatment system for a meat processing industry. Through this novel system, it was
expected to increase the efficiency of wastewater treatment while reducing the land area
utilized for the wastewater treatment plant. The treatment system was aligned vertically
and consisted of four different units accordingly rotating drum bioreactor, aeration unit,
screening unit, and anaerobic digester unit. The structure of the prototype was built
mainly using high-density polyethylene drums. As the influent, wastewater generated at a
commercial broiler processing industry was used. The experiment was consisted of 2
treatments: existing wastewater treatment plant (screening, aeration, dissolved air
floatation, chemical treatment), and novel compact wastewater treatment system. Influent
wastewater and the treated effluent from both treatments were analysed for Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), pH, nitrate content, nitrite
content, ammonium content, and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) levels. Surface area
utilized for two treatments were compared. The BOD, COD, pH and nitrate values of the
treated effluent from the novel system was significantly lower than those of treated
effluent from the existing system. However, NH3 content of the treated effluent from the
novel system was significantly higher than that of treated effluent from the existing
system which indicated incomplete anaerobic digestion in the novel system. When
comparing the land area utilization of two treatments, the novel treatment system utilized
less land area for wastewater treatment (163.75 L/m2 vs. 3.09 L/m2). According to the
results, it could be concluded that the novel wastewater treatment system is highly
efficient in reducing organic load in wastewater and land area utilization. Further studies
are recommended to optimize the system for the reduction of NH3 generated during the
anaerobic digestion of the waste.
Keywords: Chemical oxygen demand, Biological oxygen demand, Rotating drum bio
reactor
