Vol. 24, No. 1 (2025), IA24384 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/IA24384

Efficiency of a denitrifying sludge in a UASB reactor fed with whey

 

Authors

R. Lanzagorta-Cortes, C. Romo-Gómez, C. Camacho-López, O. A. Acevedo-Sandoval, C. A. González-Ramírez, J. B. Leyva-Morales

Abstract

Whey is a by-product of the cheese industry that, when discharged into the environment, causes the eutrophication of natural water bodies. Although various alternatives for its utilization have been studied and proposed, a significant portion is still discarded into the environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the digestion of whey using denitrifying sludge in an UASB reactor. The UASB reactor was set up and operated for 100 days in two stages. In the first stage (0-50 days), it was fed with acetate (CH₃COO⁻) until reaching a denitrifying steady state. In the second stage (50-100 days), the reactor was fed with whey as the carbon source. The reactor was fed with 117 mg NO₃⁻-N L⁻¹ d⁻¹, maintaining a C/N ratio of 1.8 in both stages. In the first stage, ECH₃COO⁻C and ENO₃⁻N of 93.35 ± 4.5% and 97.72 ± 1.24%, respectively, were achieved. In the second stage, Ewhey-C and EN-NO₃⁻ of 95.69 ± 0.61% and 95.68 ± 1.78%, respectively, were obtained. In both stages, YC-HCO₃⁻ and YN₂ were close to one. No accumulation of secondary metabolites was quantified, indicating that the sludge had the capacity to biodegrade the organic load of the whey.

Keywords

whey, UASB, dairy industry, digestion, denitrifying sludge.

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