Preservation of mesophilic mixed culture for anaerobic palm oil mill effluent treatment by convective drying methods

D. T. Tan, H. M. Tan, P. E. Poh, S. K. Chin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

While anaerobic digestion is a reliable method that treats the waste and produces renewable biomethane fuel, the necessary sludge in liquid form is difficult to handle due to the constant biogas generation. Therefore, this study investigates the possibility of convective air drying, namely heat pump and hot air circulation oven as preservation methods for anaerobic microbial sludge. Drying was conducted at various temperatures, ranging from 22 to 70°C. The study found that heat pump drying at 22°C resulted in highest chemical oxygen demand removal of 55.3% as well as the least log reduction in methanogens and anaerobes at 1.4 and 2.4, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)208-222
Number of pages15
JournalDrying Technology
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • Chemical oxygen demand
  • drying kinetic
  • heat pump drying
  • hot air circulation oven
  • log reduction
  • methane yield

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