Biological sulfate removal from acrylic fiber manufacturing wastewater using a two-stage UASB reactor

A two-stage UASB reactor was employed to remove sulfate from acrylic fiber manufacturing wastewater.Mesophilic operation（35±0.5℃） was performed with hydraulic retention time（HRT） varied between 28 and 40 hr.Mixed liquor suspended solids（MLSS） in the reactor was maintained about 8000 mg/L.The results indicated that sulfate removal was enhanced with increasing the ratio of COD/SO24-.At low COD/SO42-,the growth of the sulfate-reducing bacteria（SRB） was carbon-limited.The optimal sulfate removal efficiencies were 75% when the HRT was no less than 38 hr.Sulfidogenesis mainly happened in the sulfate-reducing stage,while methanogenesis in the methane-producing stage.Microbes in sulfate-reducing stage performed granulation better than that in methaneproducing stage.Higher extracellular polymeric substances（EPS） content in sulfate-reducing stage helped to adhere and connect the flocculent sludge particles together.SRB accounted for about 31% both in sulfate-reducing stage and methane-producing stage at COD/SO42-ratio of 0.5,while it dropped dramatically from 34% in sulfate-reducing stage to 10% in methane-producing stage corresponding to the COD/SO42-ratio of 4.7.SRB and MPA were predominant in sulfate-reducing stage and methane-producing stage respectively.