Economic and environmental sustainability for anaerobic biological treatment of wastewater from paper and cardboard manufacturing industry

The sustainable application of an up-flow anaerobic baffled reactor (UABR) to treat real paper and cardboard industrial effluent (PCIE) containing bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropan-1, 3-diol) was investigated. At a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 11.7 h and a bronopol concentration of 7.0 mg L-1, the removal efficiencies of total chemical oxygen demand (CODtotal), CODsoluble, CODparticulate, total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), carbohydrates, and proteins were 55.3 +/- 5.2%, 26.8 +/- 2.3%, 94.4 +/- 4.6%, 89.4 +/- 2.6%, 84.5 +/- 3.2%, 72.1 +/- 1.8%, and 22.4 +/- 1.8%, respectively. The conversion of complex organics (e.g., carbohydrates and proteins) into bio-methane (CH4) was assisted via enzyme activities of, in U (100 mL)(-1), alpha-amylase (224-270), alpha-xylanase (171-188), carboxymethyl cellulase (CM-cellulase) (146-187), polygalacturonase (56-126), and protease (67,000-75300). The acidogenic condition was dominant at a short HRT of 2.9 h, where methane yield dropped by 32.5%. Under this condition, the growth of methanogenic bacteria could be inhibited by volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation. The analysis of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra detected peaks relevant to methylene and nitro groups in the sludge samples, suggesting that entrapment/adsorption by the sludge bed could be a major mechanism for removing bronopol. The economic feasibility of UABR, as proposed to receive 100 m(3) d(-1) of PCIE, showed a payback period (profits from environmental benefits, biogas recovery, and carbon credit) of 7.6 yr. The study outcomes showed a high connection to the environmental-, economic-, and social related sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Automated summary

The study found that the sustainable application of an up-flow anaerobic baffled reactor could effectively treat paper and cardboard industrial effluent containing bronopol, removing various pollutants and aiding in the conversion of complex organics into bio-methane. The research also highlighted the economic feasibility of the reactor and its alignment with sustainable development goals.