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Fibreboard production is one of the most important industrial activities in Galicia (Spain). Great amounts of wastewater are generated, with properties depending on the type of wood, treatment process, final product and water reusing, among others. These effluents are characterized by a high chemical oxygen demand, low pH and nutrients limitation. Although anaerobic digestion is one of the most suitable processes for the treatment, lately bioplastics production (mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates) from wastewaters with mixed cultures is being evaluated. Substrate requirements for these processes consist of high organic matter content and low nutrient concentration. Therefore, wood mill effluents could be a suitable feedstock. In this work, the possibility of producing bioplastics from to wood mill effluents is evaluated. First, wood mill effluent was converted to volatile fatty acids in an acidogenic reactor operated at two different hydraulic retention times of 1 and 1.5 d. The acidification percentage obtained was 37% and 42%, respectively. Then, aerobic batch assays were performed using fermented wood mill effluents obtained at different hydraulic retention times. Assays were developed using different cultures as inoculums. The maximum storage yield of 0.57 Cmmol/Cmmol was obtained when when the culture was enriched on a synthetic media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibreboard production is one of the most important industrial activities in Galicia (Spain). Great amounts of wastewater are generated, with properties depending on the type of wood, treatment process, final product and water reusing, among others. These effluents are characterized by a high chemical oxygen demand (COD), low pH and nutrients limitation. Aerobic and anaerobic processes have been used for their treatment. Presently, bioplastics production (mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHA) from wastewaters with mixed cultures is being studied. Substrate requirements for these processes are a high organic matter content and low nutrient concentration. Therefore, wood mill effluents could be a suitable feedstock. PHA production from wastewaters is carried out in three steps. First, complex organic matter is converted into volatile fatty acids (VFA) through acidogenic fermentation. Then, VFA are used as substrate in an aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR), in which the enrichement of PHA producing bacteria from a mixed culture is favoured. Finally, the sludge from the SBR is fed with a pulse containing high VFA concentrations, resulting in PHA accumulation inside the cells. In this work, the possibility of applying this process to wood mill effluents is proposed. An acidification percentage of 37% and a storage yield (YSTO) of 0.23 Cmmol/Cmmol were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]