THE OCCURRENCE OF MICROPLASTICS ON THE START-UP PROCESS OF AN ANOXIC BIOFILM BATCH REACTOR

Authors

  • Ansiha Nur Institut Teknologi Bandung
  • Mhd Fauzi Institut Teknologi Bandung
  • Prayatni Soewondo Institut Teknologi Bandung
  • Ahmad Soleh Setiyawan Institut Teknologi Bandung
  • Katharina Oginawati Institut Teknologi Bandung

Keywords:

Anoxic, Fecal sludge, Fixed-biofilm batch reactor, Microplastics, the Start-up process

Abstract

Seed sludge from several sources is often used to initiate bacterial growth at the start-up of the biological treatment system, and it contains microplastics contaminants. Currently, there is no information regarding the presence of microplastics in a biological reactor during the start-up process. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of microplastics during the start-up process in an anoxic fixed-biofilm batch reactor. Three units of 42 Laboratory-scale reactor feed with synthetic biodegradable substrates were inoculated with fecal sludge residential areas were filled with PET media with three different specific surface areas (SSA). The results showed that the stable biofilm formation rates were associated with the removal of COD after 75 days of operation. The source of microplastics in the reactors during the start-up process comes from fecal sludge (x̅± SD, n = 3) 7.666,67 ± 513.16 MP/kg (w/w). Approximately 7.96 – 9.24% of microplastics were adsorbed on the biofilm. No PET as secondary microplastics was found during the start-up process. Two types of microplastics found in the reactor were fibers and fragments with the amount of 80.87 ± 44.8% and 19.13 ± 10,1%, respectively. The types of polymers detected by the Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy were PES, PE, PET, and PS. SSA affects the adhesion of microplastics on PET media. In a larger SSA, more microplastics are adsorbed on the biofilm.

Author Biographies

Mhd Fauzi, Institut Teknologi Bandung

Mhd.Fauzi is a magister student at Environmental Engineering Department of Faculty of Civil and Environmental Enginnering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

Prayatni Soewondo, Institut Teknologi Bandung

Prayatni Soewondo is a professor in wastewater engineering at the Environmental Engineering Department of Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. She is the supervisor, conceptualization and final decision-maker.

Ahmad Soleh Setiyawan, Institut Teknologi Bandung

Ahmad Soleh Setitawan is a lecturer at the Environmental Engineering Department of Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. He is the supervisor, validation and investigation.

Katharina Oginawati, Institut Teknologi Bandung

Katharina Oginawati is a lecturer at the Environmental Engineering Department of Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. She is the supervisor, validation and investigation.

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Published

2022-02-21 — Updated on 2022-04-04

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How to Cite

Ansiha Nur, Fauzi, M., Soewondo, P., Setiyawan, A. S., & Oginawati, K. (2022). THE OCCURRENCE OF MICROPLASTICS ON THE START-UP PROCESS OF AN ANOXIC BIOFILM BATCH REACTOR. GEOMATE Journal, 22(90), 63–70. Retrieved from https://geomatejournal.com/geomate/article/view/3254 (Original work published February 21, 2022)

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