Performance Evaluation of a Biological Pre-Treatment Coupled with the Down-Flow Expanded Granular Bed Reactor (DEGBR) for Treatment of Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater

Poultry slaughterhouse wastewater contains high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSSs), fats, oil and grease (FOG), proteins and carbohydrates. It is important that the wastewater is treated to acceptable environmental discharge standards. In this study, the poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) was treated using two-stage processes consisting of a biological pre-treatment using a biodegrading agent (Eco-flushTM) coupled with a down-flow expanded granular bed reactor (DEGBR). The results showed that the biological pre-treatment was observed to be highly effective for removal of FOG, COD and TSS with a removal efficiency of 80 ± 6.3%, 38 ± 8.4% and 56 ± 7.2%, respectively. The DEGBR showed a stable performance in terms FOG, COD and, TSS removal, with average removal efficiencies of 89 ± 2.8%, 87 ± 9.5%, and 94 ± 3.7%, respectively. The overall removal rate performance of the integrated system of pre-treatment and DEGBR in terms FOG, COD and TSS, was 97 ± 0.8%, 92 ± 6.3% and 97 ± 1.2%. Furthermore, the average volatile fatty acid/alkalinity (VFA/Alkalinity) ratio of 0.2 was reported, which indicated that the DEGBR was stable throughout the operation.