Characterization and anaerobic digestion of waters from washing of virgin olive oil

Abstract

A characterization and kinetic study of the anaerobic digestion of waters from washing of virgin olive oil were carried out. The experimental setup used consisted of a 1;litre thorough mixing bioreactor that was operated at 35 °C and loaded with sepiolite-immobilized biomass at a concentration of 10.8 g VSS/L. The bioreactor worked satisfactorily for a hydraulic retention time of 1.1 to 5.0 days and eliminated more than 92% of the initial COD in all instances. Guiot's kinetic model was used to determine the macroenergetic parameters of the system, which was found to have a true yield coefficient for the biomass Y = 0.006 g VSS/g COD and a specific rate of substrate uptake for cell maintenance m = 0.072 g COD/g VSS ∙ day. According to the experimental results obtained, the rate of substrate uptake, Rs (g COD/g VSS ∙ day), was correlated with the concentration of biodegradable substrate, Sb (g COD/L), through an equation of the Michaelis-Menten type.