ADDITION OF Ni AND Mo AS AN EFFORT TO INCREASE ETHANOL IN PALM OIL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Abstract

Ethanol is an alternative energy that can be considered to replace energy sources derived from fossils. Ethanol can be produced at the acidogenesis stage of the anaerobic conversion process of palm oil mill effluent wastewater. The efficiency of bioethanol formation is influenced by several factors, including the presence of micronutrients such as molybdenum and nickel. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the presence of molybdenum and nickel in the anaerobic wastewater treatment process on the formation of ethanol. Palm oil mill effluent was used as a substrate which was added with Mo with a concentration of 1 and 3 mg/L and Ni of 0.25 and 0.5 mg/L. Mixed culture bacteria as biomass was used in the reactor. CBR reactor is used with an operational time of 72 hours. The reactor performance was investigated by measuring ethanol production, volatile fatty acids, VSS, pH, and soluble COD. It was found that in the reactor with the addition of variations of Mo 3 mg/L and Ni of 0.25 mg/L ethanol production was higher than the other reactor about 578.44 mgCOD/L, while the higher COD removal occurs in the reactor with the addition of Mo and Ni variations of 1 mg/L and 0.25 mg/L respectively, which was 23.4%. These results show that the anaerobic product formation was influenced by the presence of molybdenum and nickel.