Integrated application of thermal coating and inoculum for biodegradation in wastewater

Abstract

This study aims to enhance biodegradation in WSP through the integrated application of thermal coating and inoculation. The integrated-coated concrete ponds (ICCPs) were designed as single-cell units of different aspect ratios and operated as a discontinuous-flow system. Settled sewage was first uniformly dosed in a constant head tank with mixed mesotrophic bacteria culture at 1.7 %, 3.3 %, and 5.0 % volume/volume ratio before being treated in the ponds. The result showed that it takes ten days to reduce BOD to 20 mg/L and 6 mg/L in the control pond and ICCP respectively. The heat energy causes the water temperature to increase due to the thermal capacity of the coated concrete surface maintaining a temperature condition in the pond system. Hence, this study was able to bridge the gap in the daily fluctuation of temperatures which influences microbial activity. Therefore, the effluent of the novel design was found suitable for irrigation purposes.

Keywords

• BOD/COD ratio
• Thermal coating
• Biodegradation
• Inoculum
• Thermal mass