Treatment of wastewater from coffee bean processing in anaerobic fixed bed reactors with different support materials: performance and kinetic modeling

The Protagonism of Biocatalysis in Green Chemistry and Its Environmental Benefits

“…In coffee farming areas, such as Vietnam, Brazil or Colombia, the wastewater formed by this process is a major ecological danger. Thus, the development of cheap technologies for the processing of this wastewater has become an urgent matter [105,[147][148][149].…”

Sustainable Agro-Food Industrial Wastewater Treatment Using High Rate Anaerobic Process

“…Due to its surplus production, a huge amount of polluted wastewater, commonly referred to as palm oil mill effluent (POME) is generated. Fia et al [6] reported that in coffee producing regions, such as Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia, the final effluent produced from this process has become a large environmental problem, creating the need for low cost technologies for the treatment of wastewater. Nieto et al [7] determined the potential for methane production from six agro-food wastes (beverage waste, milled apple waste, milk waste, yogurt waste, fats and oils from dairy wastewater treatment and cattle manure).…”

“…The UAF is a relatively simple technology; and in engineering terms, it is not as complex as fluidized bed reactors, and in biological terms, it does not require the formation of a granular sludge, a prerequisite for the UASB reactor, which is usually very difficult to maintain. Also, fixed-film processes are inherently stable and resistant to organic and hydraulic shock loading conditions [6]. Since there is no provision made for intentional wastage of excess biomass from the filters similar to UASB reactors, clogging occurs with continued operation [1].…”

“…To accommodate the accumulation of non-attached biomass without plugging of the bed, the early designs of low voidage, rock-packed reactors have largely been replaced by systems that incorporate synthetic packing materials [6,41]. The microorganisms' immobilization on surfaces of synthetic carrier material is an increasingly used strategy to enhance biological treatment.…”

“…Nikolaeva et al [40] used waste tire rubber and zeolite as microorganism immobilization supports; Fia et al [6] used blast furnace cinders, polyurethane foam and crushed stone as the supporting materials with porosities of 53%, 95% and 48%, respectively. Other materials that have been utilized for the adhesion of biomass included brick ballasts [44], Raschig rings (1.2 cm diameter ×1.2 cm) [45], low and high-density polyethylene media [3,22,35,41], polypropylene pall rings [46], non-woven disks [47], porous polyurethane foam [48] and modified porphyritic andesite (WRS) as ammonium adsorbent and bed material [49].…”