Development of a polishing treatment process (PTP) for anaerobic digester centrate

The production of biogas via the anaerobic digestion of organic waste is a growing industry in Canada. One benefit of this approach is that the resultant organic waste (digestate) can be dewatered and used as fertilizer; however, the removed water fraction remains rich in organic compounds and must be adequately treated before being discharged from the plant, which can be quite costly. This research, conducted in partnership with Anaergia, will investigate the use of a novel dissolved air flotation-nanofiltration process (DAF-NF) as an additional treatment step to supplement Anaergia’s current approach of using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) to treat wastewater. Since no prior research has explored the treatment of MBR effluent produced via anaerobic digestion, and since the treatability of wastewater via this new process depends on the characteristics of the wastewater, we will use lab- and pilot-scale studies to assess the proposed process’ viability

Faculty Supervisor:

David Latulippe

Student:

Abhishek Premachandra

Partner:

Anaergia Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McMaster University