EFFICIENT TREATMENT OF DAIRY EFFLUENT CONTAINING RICH NUTRIENTS USING UP-FLOW MULTILAYER BIO-REACTOR (UMBR)

Two pilot-scale biological nutrient removal systems having combination of up-flow multilayer bio-rector (UMBR), aeration tank (AT) and sedimentation tank (ST) were installed to check their treatment efficiency for replicated and dairy effluent. These systems were operated under five stages to achieve better results. Hydraulic retention time (HRT), inner recycle (IR), sludge recycle (SR) and organic loading rate (OLR) were systematically changed to optimize the operational conditions. System-I and system-II were operated for dairy and replicated effluent respectively for appropriate analysis. De-nitrification efficiency in up-flow multilayer bioreactor (UMBR) was observed significantly during the operation. It was observed that the involvement of UMBR improved the overall Total Chemical Oxygen Demand (TCOD), Soluble Chemical Oxygen Demand (SCOD). Nitrite-Nitrogen (NO3-N). Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Nitrate Nitrogen (NH3-N) and Total Phosphorous (TP) removal efficiency as compared to other traditional biological treatment systems. Both systems showed practical treatment of replicated as well as dairy effluent. These systems were operated under different set of operational mode and collected results are discussed in term of treatment efficiency of different components. The overall treatment efficiency of the combined systems was also discussed.