Chemical Solubilization of Particulate Organics as a Pretreatment Approach

The first step degradation of particulate organic waste is solubilization. In a bioreactor, solubilization occurs due to enzymatic hydrolysis. As an alternative, the use of chemical solubilization methods may provide a means of more efficiently solubilizing the particulates to a form that can be readily utilized by a biological treatment system. In this study, an industrial waste high in particulate organic content was used as a test substrate. The chemical pretreatment methods tested were alkaline hydrolysis, oxidation, and a mixture of hydrolysis and oxidation. Experimental studies to elucidate the effects of chemical pretreatment on the characteristics of particulate organics are discussed in this paper.