Investigation of vegetable oil containing wastewater treatment by biological methods

Vegetable oil containing wastewater treatment by biological methods was investigated in this thesis. This study has two parts as batch flask and fed-batch experiments. In the first part of the thesis, Box-Wilson Statistical Experimental Design method used to investigate the effects co-substrate, vegetable oil and biomass concentrations in batch treatment of v.oil containing synthetic wastewater. The significant effects of these parameters were observed on COD and v.oil removal. Maximum COD and V.Oil removal efficiencies were obtained as 75% and 98%, respectively, at the high concentration of biomass and low concentration of glucose. In the second part of the thesis, treatment of vegetable oil containing synthetic wastewater by fed-batch operation was studied. The effects of initial V.Oil concentration (1%-6%) and sludge age (15 days-30 days) on COD and V.Oil removal were investigated. The experiments were carried out with and without carbon source. Maximum COD and V.Oil removals were obtained around 3% oil concentrations. Increasing the sludge age significantly affected the COD and V.Oil removal performances. When sludge age was increased, percent COD and V.Oil removal decreased. Finally the effect of biosurfactant on biodegradability of oil was investigated by fed-batch operation. It was observed biosurfactant that addition did not enhance the COD and vegetable oil removal. Keywords: Biosurfactant, hydrocarbon, lipids, vegetable oil