Performance of a laboratory-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and its microbial diversity in palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment

[Display omitted] •An alternative palm oil mill effluent treatment was developed using a laboratory-scale MBBR.•Two types of supporting media in the MBBR system were compared.•Increasing the MFF and HRT improved the MBBR treatment of palm oil mill effluent.•More than 10 species of bacteria were foun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Process safety and environmental protection 2020-10, Vol.142, p.325-335
Main Authors: Abu Bakar, Siti Nur Hatika, Abu Hasan, Hassimi, Mohammad, Abdul Wahab, Abdullah, Siti Rozaimah Sheikh, Ngteni, Rahmat, Yusof, Khairul Muis Mohamed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonia
Biofilm
Biofilms
Bioreactors
Chemical oxygen demand
Effluents
Laboratories
Media filling fraction
Metagenomics
Microbial diversity
Microorganisms
Moving bed biofilm reactor
Moving beds
Nitrogen
Palm oil
Palm oil mill effluent
Reactors
Wastewater treatment
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Summary:[Display omitted] •An alternative palm oil mill effluent treatment was developed using a laboratory-scale MBBR.•Two types of supporting media in the MBBR system were compared.•Increasing the MFF and HRT improved the MBBR treatment of palm oil mill effluent.•More than 10 species of bacteria were found on the supporting media of the MBBR system. The treatment performance of palm oil mill effluent (POME) using a laboratory-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was investigated in this study. Two types of biofilm carriers were used to fill the MBBR: black plastic media (BPM) and Hexafilter (HEX). Three media filling fractions (MFFs: 25 %, 50 % and 70 %) and retention times (RTs: 24, 48 and 72 h) were investigated to achieve the best MBBR performance in terms of the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) from POME. Increasing the RT significantly improved the removal of COD and NH3-N, whereas increasing the MFF resulted in insignificant changes. Overall, HEX performed better than BPM at 50 % MFF (72 h RT). Metagenomics analysis identified approximately 13 phyla of bacteria on the HEX compared to the BPM with only 10 phyla. Based on these findings, the laboratory-scale MBBR deserved a vote as an alternative treatment for POME under appropriate RTs and MFFs and in the presence of a suitable microbial community.
ISSN:0957-5820
1744-3598
DOI:10.1016/j.psep.2020.05.004