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Evaluation of the Efficacy of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor in

Removal of Colour and Reduction of COD in Real Textile Wastewater

Article in Bioresource Technology · July 2008

DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2007.07.024 · Source: PubMed

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 Evaluation of the efficacy of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor
in removal of colour and reduction of COD in real textile wastewater
a,*
Wijetunga Somasiri , Xiu-Fen Li b, Wen-Quan Ruan b, Chen Jian b

a
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka
b
Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Southern Yangtze University, 170 Huihe Road, Wuxi 214036, PR China

Received 5 May 2007; received in revised form 11 July 2007; accepted 13 July 2007
Available online 24 August 2007

Abstract

The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was evaluated for its efficacy in decolourization and reduction in chemical oxy-
gen demand (COD) of real textile wastewater (RTW) under different operational conditions. The efficiency of UASB reactor in reducing
COD was found to be over 90%. Over 92% of colour removal due to biodegradation was achieved. The activities of the anaerobic gran-
ules were not affected during the treatment of textile wastewater. Cocci-shaped bacteria were the dominant group over Methanothrix like
bacteria in textile wastewater treatment. Alkalinity, volatile fatty acids (VFA) content and pH in effluents indicated that the anaerobic
process was not inhibited by textile wastewater. It is concluded that UASB reactor system can effectively be used in the treatment of
textile wastewater for the removal of colour and in the reduction of COD.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Anaerobic treatment; Decolourization; Degradation; Textile wastewater; UASB reactor

1. Introduction which seriously affects the aesthetic quality, water transpar-

The textile industry which is one of the largest water
consumers in the world, discharges wastewater containing
various pollutants such as degradable organics, colours,
nutrients, pH altering agents, salts, sulfur, toxicants and
refractory organics (Wouter et al., 1998). These pollutants
are formed during various stages of the textile manufactur-
ing process, namely singeing, desizing, scouring, bleaching,
mercerizing, dying, printing and finishing. Depending on
the final products, textile factories follow all or several of
above stages of the production process.
The main aspects associated with the treatment of textile
wastewater are the removal of emerged colour from unfixed
dyes and the removal of degradable organics. The presence
of very small amounts of dyes in water is highly visible
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +94 41 2229147; fax: +94 41 2292384.
E-mail addresses: swije@ageng.ruh.ac.lk, swije2001@yahoo.com
(W. Somasiri).
ency and dissolved oxygen concentration in water bodies,
resulting in deterioration of aquatic environment.
Various types of dyes are used in the textile industry to
obtain the required colours and the shades of fabrics. As a
result, different types of new dyes are being invented and
produced. Many of these dyes are very resistant to natural
degradation processes. Dyes can be classified on their
chemical structure (Azo, Anthraquinone, Azine, Xanthene,
Nitro, Phthalocyanine, etc.) or application methods used in
the dyeing process (Acid, Basic, Direct, Reactive, etc) (Cli-
ona et al., 1999). To acquire the target colour, a mixtures of
different dyes belonging to different chromogenic groups
are used in the dyeing process, making the treatment of dis-
charged textile wastewater a difficult task (Cliona et al.,
1999; André et al., 2005). Out of more than one million
tons of dyes produced, 280,000 tons are believed to be
annually discharged directly into wastewater, worldwide
(Hao et al., 2000; Robert and Sanjeev, 2005). Therefore,
the severity of the problem related to textile wastewater
treatment is widely recognized and immediate remedial
measures are required to tackle the problem.
Different methods of wastewater treatment developed so
far have been evaluated for possible application in the
treatment of textile wastewater to remove colour and bio-
degradable organics. Even though good colour removal
was possible by advanced oxidation processes such as with
Fenton’s regent (H2O2 and Fe2+), H2O2 and ozonation,
their operational costs and sludge generations are high
(Stanislaw et al., 2001; Marco and José, 2007; André
et al., 2007). Coagulation and flocculation using lime,
alum, polyelectrolyte, and ferrous salts produce large
amounts of sludge imposing handling and disposal prob-
lems. The adsorption of dyes using activated carbon and
other adsorbents are very expensive and requires pretreat-
ments. Reverse osmosis, which is shown to be effective,
needs high-pressure and thus increases energy consump-
tion. Membrane filtration methods such as nano-filtration
and ultra-filtrations are effective. However, operational
costs and concentrated sludge loads are high (Allègre
et al., 2006; André et al., 2007). The photochemical oxida-
tion of dyes using UV with oxidation agents like catalyses,
H2O2 are also not economically viable and forms harmful
by-products (Muruganandham and Swaminathan, 2004;
André et al., 2007).
Electrochemical oxidation is a feasible technique due to
non toxic by products and higher color removal rates.
However, high energy costs limit its application for the tex-
tile wastewater treatment (Mohan et al., 2007; André et al.,
2007).
The biological methods in the textile wastewater treat-
ment seem to be a cost effective alternative to the phys-
ico-chemical and photochemical methods which have
various limitations. Different biological treatment meth-
ods involving various microorganisms have been
employed for the possible application for the treatment
of textile wastewater. Although single bacterial and fun-
gal strains are effective in treatment of textile wastewater,
especially for color removal, maintaining of single cul-
tures in field application and the inability of degrading
all different dyes are the drawbacks for its commercial
adoption (Pearce et al., 2003; André et al., 2007). Aero-
bic biological methods are ineffective in textile wastewa-
ter treatment since poor or no color removal has been
obtained for most of the dyes, especially azo dyes.
Anaerobic and anaerobic/aerobic processes have been
shown as effective methods in removing colour and
organic loads in textile wastewater (Wouter et al., 1998;
Frank et al., 2001; Rui et al., 2001; Sponza and Isik,
2002; Manu and Sanjeev, 2003; Pearce et al., 2003; Mén-
dez-Paz et al., 2005; Ilgi and Rukiye, 2006; Mustafa and
Delia, 2006; André et al., 2007; Nilsson et al., 2006; Anj-
ali et al., 2007).
Among the different anaerobic reactors, UASB reactor
has found to be more resistant to toxic compounds present
in wastewater and appears to be highly suitable for the
treatment of wastewater containing xenobiotic and recalci-
trant compounds (Harada et al., 1996; Donlon et al., 1997;
Van Lier et al., 2001; Jantsch et al., 2002).
Most of the studies on decolourization of textile waste-
water under anaerobic process have been carried out with
synthetic textile wastewaters (Wouter et al., 1998; O’Neill
et al., 2000; Pearce et al., 2003; Allègre et al., 2006). Studies
with RTW under different anaerobic reactors have not
been adequately reported. It is very difficult experimentally
to simulate all the components in RTW. The best option is
the use of RTW as it will show the real situation inside the
reactor in the treatment of textile wastewater. Therefore,
the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the
UASB reactor in terms of its efficiency in removing colour
and COD in the treatment of RTW. Furthermore, the reac-
tor process stability and morphological changes of
microbes were also monitored.
2. Methods
2.1. Digester configurations
A laboratory scale UASB reactor was used in the study.
The effective volume of the reactor was 1.25 l (230 mm
height · 84 mm internal diameter). The flow distributor
was placed at the bottom of the reactor to distribute influ-
ents evenly from the bottom. The solid–gas–liquid separa-
tor was also kept in the upper part of the reactor to prevent
the loss of granules from the reactor and for easy release of
the gas produced by anaerobic digestion. A peristaltic
pump with a constant discharge flow was used to pump
the substrate into the reactor. The reactor was operated
at 35 ± 3 C in a temperature controlled room.
2.2. Additional nutrients
The synthetic wastewater (SWW) was used for the reac-
tor startup and it was prepared according to Ergüder et al.
(2003) with minor modifications. Synthetic wastewater
composed of macro and micronutrients, and carbon
sources essential for microbial growth. The composition
of nutrient medium used for the SWW preparation were
(mg/l): NH4Cl (1200), MgSO4 Æ 7H2O (400), KCl (400),
CaCl2 Æ 4H2O (50), (NH)2HPO4 (170), FeCl2 Æ 4H2O (40),
CoCl2 Æ 6H2O (10), KI (10), MnCl2 Æ 4H2O (0.5),
CuCl2 Æ 2H2O (0.5), ZnCl2 (0.5), AlCl3 Æ 6H2O (0.5),
Na2MoO4 Æ 2H2O (0.5), H3BO3 (0.5), NiCl2 Æ 6H2O (0.5),
NaWO4 Æ 2H2O (0.5), Na2SeO3 (0.5), NaHCO3 (3000).
Chemical oxygen demand of SWW was adjusted with glu-
cose when required. Macro, micro, buffering solution and
carbon source were prepared, separately, once every six
days and stored below 4 C to prevent premature degrada-
tion, and diluted as required when necessary.
2.3. Analytical methods
Total alkalinity, pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total
volatile suspended solids (TVSS) and total phosphorus
were determined according to the procedures outlined in
standard methods (APHA, 1985). Chemical oxygen
demand was determined spectrometrically by 5B-1 Quick
COD analyzer (The LianHua Environmental Instrument
Institute, Langzhou, PR China). Volatile fatty acid content
as acetic acid in effluents was determined by titration
method recommended by Buchauer (1998). The colour of
influent and effluent was determined spectrophotometri-
cally by UV–visible spectrometer (Shimadzu UV-2450).
The samples were filtered by micro fiber filter and centri-
fuged at 7000 rpm for 10 min prior to absorbance measure-
ments (Rui et al., 2001; Méndez-Paz et al., 2005). Colour
removal was determined based on the maximum absor-
bance of UV visible spectrum using
A i  Ae
Colour removal ð%Þ ¼  100;
Ai
where Ai is absorbance in influents and Ae is absorbance in
effluents.
2.4. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images
The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images were
observed in granules before and after treatment to find
out the changes of microbial community in granules. The
granules were washed three times in a 0.1 M phosphate
buffer at pH 7.2 and then fixed with a mixture of 1% glutar-
aldehyde and 4% paraformaldehyde in 0.1% phosphate
buffer at pH 7.2. Fixed granules were sliced in the phos-
phate buffer solution exposing its interior. Post fixed was
carried out with OsO4 and washed, dehydrated stepwise
by immersing in graded series of ethanol, critical-point
dried, sputter-coated with gold–palladium and scanned
by scanning electron microscope (Quanta 200, AFEI Co.,
Holland).
2.5. Methanogenic activity of granules
Specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of granules was
carried out in 250 ml flasks. The granules were incubated
three days to remove residual substrates, then washed with
phosphate buffer solution (1.28 g Na2HPO4/l and 0.42 g
NaH2PO4/l) in order to remove additional residual sub-
strates and, used for the activity test (Brás et al., 2005).
The granule samples of 2.2 g in volatile suspended solids
were transferred to flasks containing nutrient medium and
ð1Þ incubated without agitation further 12 h at 35 ± 3 C in a
dark room. Then, glucose solution was added (3000 mg/l
as COD) and flushed with N2 for 5 min and incubated at
35 ± 3 C. The gas produced was measured at 1 h intervals
by liquid displacement method using Mariotti flask con-
taining 5% (w/v) NaOH solution (Ghangrekar et al.,
1996). After each gas measurement, the flasks were manu-
ally shaken. Specific methanogenic activity of granules was
determined by taking the slope of the graph drawn by
methane production (cumulative) against time and
expressed as CH4 L/g-VSS d.
2.6. Reactor startup
The reactor was seeded up to 1/3 of its height, with
anaerobic granular sludge obtained from another reactor

Table 1
Experimental stages of the RTW treatment
Stage No of Feed composition Remarks
days
I 20 Only synthetic wastewater was used. COD in synthetic Reactor startup period. UASB reactors operate well with high
wastewater was increased up to 6000 mg/l from 2000 mg/l strength wastewaters. The reactor instability can also be easily
monitored at high COD loads
II 18 RTW was diluted to 50% with synthetic wastewater. The final Stepwise increases of toxicity compounds are essential in anaerobic
COD level was maintained at 6000 mg/l reactors in order to acclimatize microbes to toxic compounds. Other
nutrients were provided to acclimatize of microbes for recalcitrant
compounds in RTW. COD in RTW were low; therefore, it is
essential to have additional carbon sources for the growth of
microorganisms
III 16 Increased the RTW concentration up to 75% and remaining The stepwise increase of recalcitrant compound containing
25% was synthetic wastewater wastewater is essential for the acclimatization of microbes to new
wastewater
IV 18 Only RTW was fed, however, macro and micronutrients, The additional nutrients and carbon sources are required for proper
buffering agents, and carbon sources were added. Final COD acclimatization of microbes to the new environment
was 6000 mg/l
V 15 Same as stage IV, except micro nutrients were not added Since RTW contains other compounds (Table 1), micronutrients
were not provided to monitor the effect of micronutrients on reactor
performance
VI 14 Same as stage IV, except buffering agents, micro and macro At this stage, reactor performance can be monitored without
nutrients were not added providing additional nutrients and buffering agents
VII 15 Only RTW was used. Final COD was reduced to 2000 mg/l. Reactor performance can be monitored with a low COD RTW
None of the macro and micronutrients or buffering agents
were added
running with SWW. Total suspended solids and TVSS
of granules were 103.24 g/l and 85.80 g/l, respectively.
Initially, the reactor was fed with SWW having
2000 mg/l COD. Later, COD was increased stepwise,
up to 6000 mg/l. After reactor reached a steady state,
achieving more than 90% COD removal, RTW was
introduced.
2.7. Textile wastewater
Real textile wastewater collected from a textile factory
(Pacific Group, Wuxi, PR China) was used for the study.
The composition of RTW varied widely due to the variety
of recipes, techniques, machinery, raw materials, and fab-
rics used in the production processes of the factory. The
collection of representative (homogeneous) samples was
difficult for the study, as required. Therefore, RTW was
collected on three days per week, mixed together, stored
at 4 C and used for the study. The characteristics of
RTW used for the study were (mg/l): COD (832 ± 52),
TOC (327 ± 22), alkalinity as CaCO3 (583 ± 45), total N
(99 ± 18), total P(325 ± 21), TSS (525 ± 45), TVSS
(460 ± 54), Na (1360 ± 111), K (123 ± 9.5), Ca
(275 ± 18), Al (169 ± 14), Fe (18.04 ± 1.3), Mg
(28.4 ± 3). The pH and true colour (absorbance at
580 nm) were 9.2 ± 0.2 and 35.1 ± 4.2 cm/m, respectively.
Heavy metals (Co, Cr, Cd and Ni) were found in less than
1 mg/l concentration.
2.8. Experimental procedure
All the experiments were carried out under the steady
state conditions of UASB reactor. The length of each phase
of the steady state was based on the stability of the biore-
actor. The flow rate and hydraulic retention time (HRT)
during operation period was set at 1.8 l/h and 24 h, respec-
tively. The investigation was carried out in seven experi-
mental stages including reactor startup. The details of
each stage are shown in Table 1.
2.9. Measurements
Chemical oxygen demand, colour and pH in influents
and effluents were determined once in two days. The alka-
linity and VFA content were measured twice during each
stage. The first reading was taken two days after the reactor
was shifted to new stage. Second reading was obtained just
before shifting the reactor to new stage.
Table 2
Reactor performance during startup
Period No of days Influent COD (mg/l) Effluent COD (mg/l)
1 5 2013 (±88) 66 (±25)
2 8 3963 (±18) 60 (±8)
3 7 6063 (±442) 84 (±9)
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Reactor performance at startup
The reactor performance at start up period is shown in
Table 2. It operated well during the start up period. Chem-
ical oxygen demand removal was over 97% and VFA and
alkalinity values were within the recommended values for
anaerobic digestion process (Speece, 1996). The pH of
effluents (7.6 ± 0.1) indicated an active metabolism of
methanogens.
3.2. COD removal efficiency under different operating
conditions
Chemical oxygen demand in RTW used in this study
was comparable with other reported values (Olcay et al.,
1996; S
ß en and Demirer, 2003; Ilgi and Sabiha, 2005). How-
ever, high COD levels in RTW have also been observed
(Wouter et al., 1998; Sopa et al., 2000). Mustafa and Delia
(2004) found that, in some instances, COD was less than
500 mg/l. It seems that COD of textile effluents are chang-
ing with the types of textile produced and the types of pro-
cesses followed in the production process. Chemical oxygen
demand removal in all experimental stages was over 97%
except stage VII where COD removal was 90%. Low
COD removal in stage VII was merely due to the low
COD in effluents. The effluent COD in all stages was
almost constant (200 mg/l) and influent COD in all
stages, except for stage VII was 6000 mg/l. Therefore,
as a percentage, COD removal was low in stage VII. The
higher COD removal can be expected when the anaerobic
granular sludge having high microbial activity is used in
the reactor (André et al., 2007). The effluent COD was
78 mg/l without RTW at the end of the startup period
of the experiment (Table 2). However it increased in the
study with RTW indicating that the effluents contained
non-degradable organics.
3.3. Colour removal efficiency under different operating
conditions
Colour removal in all experimental stages were over
92%, and it can be seen that the effluent residual colour
(absorbance at 580 nm) was almost constant (0.02) dur-
ing study period (Fig. 1). The observed colour removals
were comparatively higher than the values reported by
Mustafa and Delia (2004). They observed 55% of colour
COD removal (%) Alkalinity (mg/l) VFA (mg/l)
97 1403 (±25) 48 (±8)
98 1439 (±120) 55 (±13)
99 1407 (±110) 78 (±8)
 0.40 100 Table 3
Comparison of colour in treated effluents with consent standards
0.35 Colour wavelength Absorbance
Residual Colour at 580 nm

90
(nm)
Typical permissible Treated RTW

Colour Removal (%)

0.30
80 coloura effluent
0.25 400 0.115 0.097
70 450 0.085 0.053
0.20
500 0.065 0.034
60 550 0.055 0.024
0.15
600 0.040 0.017
50 650 0.028 0.011
0.10
700 0.013 0.007
0.05 40 a
Cliona et al. (1999).

0.00
II III IV V IV
Experimental Stages
Influent-Ab Effluent-Ab Colour Removal
Fig. 1. Influent and effluent absorbance (at 580 nm) and colour removal at
different experimental stages.
removal at 55 HRT in RTW treatment with UASB reactor.
The colour removal was 81–96% in the treatment of acid
dying textile wastewater in laboratory scale UASB reactor
at 17 HRT (Mustafa and Delia, 2006). Even following a
similar production process, RTW vary in composition
due to the use of different types of dyes belonging to differ-
ent chemical groups. The textile factory at which RTW was
taken used about 50–60 different types of dyes in different
colours. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to find the
types of dyes used on the day of textile wastewater
collection.
The main reasons for different colour removal values in
different studies may be due to the types of dyes, microbes
used and the process parameters used in the reactor. Mus-
tafa and Delia (2004) have used partially granulated
sludge, while totally granulated sludge was used in this
study. The inclusion of an additional carbon source as a
co-substrate (Tapioca) has increased the decolourization
efficiency up to 70% in RTW treatment by UASB systems
(Sopa et al., 2000). In this study, the readily biodegradable
carbon source (glucose) might have increased the metabolic
activities of granules and thereby the decolourization.
Moreover, the low influent colour of RTW may also have
affected the decolourization process. The observed colour
in RTW was comparatively lower than the reported values.
Most probably, the degree of colour in RTW was decided
by types of dyes and the types of production processes
involved. The reappearance of original colour after anaer-
obic treatment of simulated textile wastewaters has been
reported and it is basically due to the presence of azo dyes
(Knapp and Newby, 1995). In the anaerobic decolouriza-
tion process, azo bond (–N@N–) which is responsible for
the colour is broken down and relevant amines are pro-
duced. Some of the amines are auto oxidized and original
compounds are formed giving the original colour when
they are exposed to air (Frank et al., 2001). However, this
30
VII
phenomenon was not observed in this study and colour
removal was stable.
The typical colour consent standards were formulated in
most of the countries to regulate the colour in discharged
effluents in various industries (Cliona et al., 1999). The
treated effluent colour of RTW was compared with these
permissible values (Table 3). It is clear that the effluent
from the UASB reactor can be released to the environment
since its absorbance values were much lower than that of
colour consent values recommended.
3.4. Colour removal mechanisms
The UV–visible spectra in influents and effluents were
taken to identify the spectral changes. The spectrum
changes in effluents provide the evidences of degradation
of dye molecules (Manu and Sanjeev, 2003; Rui et al.,
2001; Robert and Sanjeev, 2005). When colour removal is
attributed to biodegradation, the new peak will appear in
effluents or peaks in influents will completely be disap-
peared in effluents (Kuo-Cheng et al., 2003). The major
absorbance peak in influents was observed at 580 nm.
However, no absorbance peaks were observed at
580 nm in effluent spectrum and it confirmed that the
colour removal was attributed to biodegradation. The
colour of RTW was formed by different kind of dyes with
different composition. Based on the findings of Cliona et al.
(1999); red, yellow, blue and black dyes may have contri-
buted much more than other dyes in RTW used in this
study.
3.5. Alkalinity, VFA and pH of effluents under different
operating conditions
The alkalinity required for buffering of textile wastewa-
ter adversely affects the economical feasibility of the anaer-
obic treatment. In addition, the alkalinity of textile
wastewater increases the alkalinity in the reactor. Mustafa
and Delia (2005) reported that alkalinity 3000 mg/l as
CaCO3 was sufficient to provide required buffering capacity
to treat simulated textile wastewater. Therefore, NaHCO3
was used at the concentration of 3000 mg/ as a buffering
agent at the beginning of the experiment.
 The alkalinity was over 2000 mg/l during early stages of
the experiment (Stages II, III, IV and V) at which NaHCO3
was used as a buffering agent (Fig. 2). In the last two stages
of the experiment, the alkalinity was reduced to less than
1920 mg/l without buffering agents. Volatile fatty acid
contents in effluents in all experimental stages were below
130 mg/l, and in the later two experimental stages, it
slightly increased showing the inability of consumption of
all VFA produced by acetogenic microbes. However, the
observed VFA concentration was less than the critical lim-
its (250 mg/l as acetic acid) where an anaerobic reactor
shows process instability (Speece, 1996). It is noteworthy
that even without providing an additional buffering agent
in the influent; the alkalinity, VFA and pH were well within
desirable values for anaerobic digestion (Fig. 2). This is an
added advantage for the anaerobic process. The best oper-
ation of anaerobic reactors can be expected when the pH is
maintained near neutrality (Rajeshwari et al., 2000). Under
these conditions, H2 and acetic acid formed due to acido-
3000
2500
Alkalinity (mg/L)
genic and acetogenic bacterial activities were utilized imme-
diately and converted to methane by methanogens.
Moreover, it is interesting to note that, though buffering
agents were not used during stages VI and VII, effluent
pH was the same as during other stages, indicating the pos-
sibility of avoiding the use of expensive buffering agents for
the anaerobic process in textile wastewater treatment
(Fig. 3). The reduction of pH by acidifying bacteria in
anaerobic systems is an additional advantage to make a
favorable growing environment for methanogens, which
can perform decolourization processes effectively. The
acidifying bacteria are more tolerant to pH fluctuations
and could lower the pH of alkaline influents by producing
carbon dioxide and acids such as formic, acetic, etc (Wou-
ter et al., 1998).
3.6. Activities of granules before and after investigation
The SMA is a very important parameter to monitor the
activities of granules in different operational conditions.
The SMA at the beginning and end of the study were
150 134.57 and 132.88 ml-CH4/g-VSS d, respectively, indicat-
140 ing no considerable changes of the activity. At the same
time, the minor reduction of TSS and TVSS were also
130
observed from 102.70 and 84.70 g/l at the beginning of

120 the study to 100.32 and 82.35 g/l at the end of the study,
2000
VFA (mg/L)

110 respectively. These figures suggest that there were no

severely harmful effects on activity of the microbes in the
1500 100
anaerobic granules.
90
1000 3.7. Bio-faces of granules in UASB reactor before and after
80
treatment of textile wastewaters
70
500
60 Morphological changes of microorganisms were
0 50 observed in granules before and after treatment of textile
II III IV V VI VII wastewaters. In general, Methanothrix like bacteria are
Experimental Stages the dominant group in anaerobic granules in UASB reac-
Alkalinity VFA tors (Li et al., 1995). In this study, before treatment it
was seen that Methanothrix like bacteria were the domi-
Fig. 2. Alkalinity and VFA at different experimental stages.
nant group. However, they were reduced in number and
the cocci-shape microorganisms increased in numbers after
treatment of textile wastewater. In the course of operation
9.5 of the reactor, morphological changes of microbes can be
9.0 expected since more resistant microbes to chemical com-
8.5 pounds present in textile wastewater can multiply and grow
8.0 better than susceptible microbes in granules.
7.5 There are different groups of bacteria belonging to dif-
pH

7.0 ferent shapes in anaerobic granules. According to Michael

6.5 (2003), methanogens could be present as rod, curved, spiral
and coccus or spherical forms, and their growth pattern
6.0
may be irregular clusters or filamenous chains. After the
5.5
treatment of textile wastewater it was found that dominant
5.0
II III IV V VI VII
microorganism group in granules composed mainly of
cocci- shaped organisms. It appears that cocci-shaped bac-
Experimental Stages
teria have dominantly been involved in the decolourization
Influent Effluent
process. Similar observations have been reported by Soon-
Fig. 3. pH in influents and effluents. An et al. (2005) in their study with UASB reactor for the
decolourization of simulated textile wastewater containing
azo dye, Orange II. Real textile wastewater apparently con-
tains azo dyes which are more popular in the world at
present.
4. Conclusions
The recalcitrant nature and high pH of RTW are the
major concerns which have to be addressed when biologi-
cal treatment methods are employed. However, the use of
UASB reactor with anaerobic granules can lower the pH
sufficiently in favor for methanogens, who perform the ulti-
mate role in the anaerobic process. Also, the stepwise
increase of concentration of recalcitrant compound con-
taining wastewater to UASB reactors having anaerobic
granules facilitates microbes in granules to acclimatize to
the new environment without process failure. Degradable
carbon sources in RTW are critical energy sources for
microbes. If degradable organic load is low in textile waste-
water, the best option is to mix RTW with municipal or
food factory wastewater before feeding to UASB reactor.
Finally, it can be concluded that UASB system can effec-
tively be used for the colour and COD removals of RTW
as a promising technological process over other methods.
However, bench scale studies with different anaerobic
microbial granules, RTW and operation conditions are
suggested in order to find optimum treatment processes
for different dye containing textile wastewaters.
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