Performance Analysis of a Multi-Stage Upflow Anaerobic Fixed-Bed Reactor for Pollutant Degradation in Tofu Whey Wastewater: A Case Study at Giriharja Hamlet
Tofu whey wastewater is known as a high-organic pollutant, which can pollute the environment if not properly managed. A Multi-Stage Upflow Anaerobic Fixed-Bed Reactor (UAFBR) was built to treat the tofu whey wastewater in Giriharja Hamlet. This study aims to analyze the performance of the sixth-stage UAFBR in the current year, six years after its operation began. The results showed that daily tofu production using 400 kg of soybeans can produce 1219 kg of yellow tofu, 1006 kg of tofu dregs, and 3870 kg of tofu whey wastewater. Besides the high quantity, the quality characteristics of tofu whey itself had a low pH (4-5) and high COD content (4000-6646 mg/L). The present performance of the multi-stage UAFBR semi-continuous system was investigated under ambient temperature and at fluctuating hydraulic retention times (HRTs) ranging from 4 to 40 days, corresponding to organic loading rates (OLRs) ranging from 0.10 kg COD/m3.day to 1.52 kg COD/m3.day. This study revealed that the multi-stage UAFBR system in treating tofu whey
wastewater can recover the acidic pH (<5.0) to the neutral pH range (6.5 to 8.0), which may be due to the UAFBR's ability to maintain buffering capacity from VFA acidification without any nutritional addition. The pollutant degradation, as TCOD, exhibited a high removal rate (91.6±3.6%) and remained steady at around 94-96% as the shortened HRT was applied. While TCOD removal presented a significant fluctuation across reactors, SCOD removal showed a more stable trend, gradually increasing from the first to the third reactor, decreasing until the fifth, and increasing drastically at the final stage. The biogas production fluctuated from 3.13 m3/day to 20.19 m3/day, as the exceeding OLR rate limited biogas productivity. This study provides new insights into the UAFBR performance and stability after 6 years of operation in tofu whey wastewater treatment in Giriharja Hamlet
URI
https://repo.itera.ac.id/depan/submission/SB2508110049
Keyword
Anaerobic digestion UAFBR Tofu whey COD