Long-term microbiota and performance monitoring of a highly efficient propylene oxide co-production methyl tert-butyl ether production wastewater treatment plant

Jiawei Liang, Xinbo Zhao, Dongjin Wan, Jihua Dai, Jialiang Zhang, Wenning Mai, Jinfeng Tang, Lei Shi, Ivan Mijakovic, Yongjun Wei*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was constructed specifically to treat 543,900 m3 wastewater annually generated by a novel propylene oxide (PO) co-production methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) petroleum chemical factory in this study. The WWTP consisted of expanded anaerobic granular sludge beds (EGSBs) and aerobic activate sludge tanks (AASTs), which have been operated for 1340 days. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and petroleum oils of the WWTP influent were 5140 ± 844 mg/L and 70.08 ± 16.57 mg/L, respectively. The overall removal efficiencies for COD petroleum oils were 94.43% ± 2.36% and 93.46% ± 5.95%, respectively. EGSBs account for 41.48% ± 10.52% of the total COD removal, while AAST contributed to 52.95% ± 10.18%. AAST played a prominent role in the removal of petroleum oils. The optimum COD volume loading rate (VLR) of EGSBs during the operation was 1.83 ± 0.10 kg COD/m3/d, whereas the average COD VLR of AAST was 0.45 ± 0.09 kg COD/m3/d. The composition of dominant microorganisms found in EGSBs and AASTs significantly enhance the performance and efficiency of the WWTP. This study underscores the potential of employing a similar approach for long-term and efficient treatment of industrial complex pollutants, while also highlighting the presence of microbiota with exceptional capability to remove petrochemical contaminants.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104376
JournalJournal of Water Process Engineering
Volume56
Number of pages10
ISSN2214-7144
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Petrochemical wastewater
  • Propylene oxide co-production methyl tert-butyl ether
  • Butyl ether
  • Expanded anaerobic granular sludge bed
  • Aerobic activated sludge
  • Microbiota

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