Development of biogranules in a pilot-scale sequential batch reactor treating actual textile wastewater

A pilot-scale sequential batch reactor (sbr) biogranular system for the treatment of actual textile wastewater was developed in this study. the reactor had a working volume of 70 l and was operated according to sbr’s sequence for 24-hr cycle,which includes sequential anaerobic and aerobic reaction phases. wastewater from two textile mills were used as feed,while sewage and pineapple wastewater were used as co-substrate. after operating the system for 60 d,30% of the sludge had transformed into biogranules and had increased to 67% at the end of the study. the biogranules developed in the reactor have sizes ranging from 0.2 mm to 9.5 mm with a mean settling velocity of 28 ± 7 m/hr and sludge volume index of 73.9 ml/g. at the end of the study,the system yields 92% removal of cod,but the color removal oscillated throughout the development period in the range of 50 to 70%. although the biogranules development is much faster in lab-scale reactor under controlled environment,the findings indicate the feasibility of developing biogranules in a bigger scale reactor using actual textile wastewater and other high-strength biodegradable wastewater as co-substrate. © 2017 penerbit utm press. all rights reserved.