Investigation of terephthalic acid and terephthalic acid wastewater degradation in the upflow anaerobic filter reactors

Two identical upflow anaerobic filter reactors were operated under the mesophilic conditions (35ºC) with constant hydraulic retention time (HRT, 24 hours) to investigate the anaerobic degradation of terephthalic acid (TA) which was the primary starter product of the most of petrochemical industries. One of the reactors (UAF1) was inoculated with an anaerobic granular sludge taken from an anaerobic digester of a petrochemical industry and fed with TA, as a sole carbon source, and operated with gradually increased organic loading rates (1, 2, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 gCOD/L.d) to determine the removing efficiency of the reactor. During the study period, COD removal efficiency and methane production yield were determined as 87,5 % and 0,19 ? 1,64 LCH4/d, respectively. The second reactor (UAF2) was inoculated with an anaerobic sludge of a brewery industry and fed with a mixture of substrates including TA, benzoic acid (BA) and acetic acid (AA) (40, 30 and 30% vol/vol, respectively) with gradually increased organic loading rates (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 15 gCOD/L.d) to determine the effects of co-substrates on anaerobic degradation efficiency of TA. During the study period, COD removal efficiency and methane production yield were determined as 90,2 % and 0,3 ? 3,91 LCH4/d, respectively. The data obtained for both reactors were then applied to the Stover-Kincannon model and Umax and KB values were determined.