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   Walailak University researchers devised a 3-step biogas production system from organic wastewater in industrial plants (3S-ASBR) to optimize wastewater treatment which can increase the volume of gas by more than 98% and reduce damaging effects on the environment by 90 %.

    Asst. Prof. Dr. Kessara Seneesrisakul, Acting Head of Petrochemical and Polymers Department School of Engineering and Technology, Walailak University revealed her cooperation with a team of researchers from Chulalongkorn University to design and test a new three-step ASBR wastewater treatment system (A new three-step anaerobic sequencing batch reactor) for biogas production from organic wastewater of industrial plants such as palm oil mills, cassava-extracted ethanol production plants and cassava starch factories etc. 

    The test results obtained from measuring COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) - an indicator of quality of water- suggests the impurities of industrial wastewater compared to a single stage or 2-stage treatment system. The 3-stage ASBR system is more effective in reducing the COD by 60% to 80% and reducing water pollution by astounding 90 percent. 

    Asst. Prof. Dr. Kessara further said that The 3-stage ASBR system functions by separating the microorganisms into three tanks based on the optimum conditions for growth, temperature, acidity, temperature, time and tank’s size. Stage one consists of hydrolysis bacteria and acidogens digesting large organic molecules in wastewater into volatile fatty acids. Stage two is acetogen converting fatty acids into smaller molecules and Stage three contains methanogen converting final molecules into biogas. 

“The ASBR system can also be used as a model for biogas production from plant wastewater. It also helps to effectively treat wastewater. As renewable fuel, biogas can also reduce the fuel costs in a factory, “said Asst. Prof. Dr. Kessara. The study proved to be an unprecedented discovery and got published in the journal Energy, a prestigious international journal on energy indexed in a Scopus database. For further reading, please visit a website for School of Engineering and Technology https://engineer.wu.ac.th/ or follow the link below. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360544221007611?fbclid=IwAR2VgBz0t8qATFEiUujtirYi9lDK5LiA2oZF_m7Xt54rVOK-wICwzt5_aNc
 

News by Nootchanat Sukkaew