Treatment of cane sugar mill wastewater in an upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor

The performance of a mesophilic UASB reactor was studied for the treatment of sugar cane mill wastewater previously pre-treated for solid separation. The experimental work was carried out in a reactor with 80 L total volume. Four organic loads were applied and the process performance was evaluated during two months for each experimental stage. Removal efficiencies higher than 90% were obtained with organic loads up to 16 kg COD m⁻³ d⁻¹. Stable process performance and high biogas production were obtained. The COD removal rate increased substantially with the load increase to 24 kg COD m⁻³ d⁻¹. However, the obtained removal was of only 78–82%, which can be attributed to the accumulation of volatile organic acids. The kinetic coefficients were obtained using first order model for the substrate removal rate and Monod's equation for bacteria specific growth rate. The UASB reactor is a good option for the biological treatment of pre-treated sugar cane mill wastewaters. The discharge requirements for COD concentration can be accomplished if the reactor is operated at a low organic load of 4 kg COD m⁻³ d⁻¹. At higher loads, an additional biological treatment stage is needed.