Biogas Enhancement Using Air Stripping Pre-Treatment Process in Anaerobic Digestion

Abstract

Biogas is a form of renewable energy that could be a turning point in economic progress, and palm oil mill effluent (POME) is one of its primary sources in Malaysia. Due to the concerns regarding the quality of biogas from POME, this study was done to improve its quality by using the air-stripping method as the pre-treatment process in the wastewater treatment pond from the mill. Additionally, this procedure was  recognised as one of the methods that can reduce the concentration of the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS),  and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) in the POME. The experiment was carried out using an air-stripping lab scale model with different pH levels and stripping times at consistent operational temperatures and flow rates. The experimental results showed that the higher removal efficiencies of COD, TSS, and NH3-N are 22.5%, 50%, and 92.8%, respectively, at pH of 12 and fourth days of the air stripping process. The highest biogas production rate is 5.54 ml/h on the first day of stripping time. It can be concluded that the reduction of NH3-N enhanced biogas production.