Characterization and evaluation of the anaerobic treatability of a dairy wastewater

In this study, the characteristics, anaerobic treatability, and energy potential of wastewater samples taken from a dairy products industry were investigated. It was determined that the wastewater has a high organic load (COD = 2800 mg O₂/L) and a large proportion of this load is biodegradable. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) value of wastewater was measured as 1118.71 ± 122 ml CH₄/L. Volatile solids (VS) removal of 67.25 ± 4.98% was achieved during batch tests and the obtained methane yield was calculated as 411.59 ± 22.8 ml CH₄/g VS. Peak methane formation rate and lag time of microorganisms were determined as 163.42 ± 3.83 ml CH₄/g VS d and 0.584 ± 0.023 d, respectively. Rate constant for the first-order kinetic model was 0.384 ± 0.072 d^-1. The volatile fatty acid (VFA) yield was measured as 155.19 mg COD/g VSS. It was concluded that the wastewater can be treated anaerobically without any inhibition and it has great energy potential. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Dairy wastewater has a large organic load and that most of the organics can be easily biodegradable. Although there are many components considered to be toxic for anaerobic treatment in wastewater, they were found to be very under the inhibition thresholds and did not pose any risk of toxicity. At a satisfactory level, organic matter removal and methane formation were observed in batch anaerobic tests. A rapid microbial adaptation was achieved and the system reached equilibrium in a short time without any acid accumulation. The electrical and caloric energy potentials of the obtained methane gas were calculated as 2.12 and 4.25 kWh/m³, respectively.