The Influence of the Duration of Exposure to Direct Current on the Treatment Efficiency of Wastewater from Soilless Tomato Cultivation in a Bio-Electrochemical Reactor

Artur Mielcarek, Kamil Łukasz Bryszewski, Joanna Rodziewicz (), Marian Kwietniewski, Wojciech Janczukowicz, Karolina Kłobukowska and Joanna Struk-Sokołowska
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Artur Mielcarek: Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warszawska St. 117a, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Kamil Łukasz Bryszewski: Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warszawska St. 117a, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Joanna Rodziewicz: Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warszawska St. 117a, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Marian Kwietniewski: Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-653 Warsaw, Poland
Wojciech Janczukowicz: Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warszawska St. 117a, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Karolina Kłobukowska: Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warszawska St. 117a, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Joanna Struk-Sokołowska: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Białystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45A, 15-351 Białystok, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: The management of wastewater from soilless tomato cultivation poses a technological and economic challenge. Given the above, the aim of this study was to determine the treatment efficiency of wastewater from soilless tomato cultivation in a bio-electrochemical reactor under conditions of direct electric current flow. The treatment efficiency was tested in three time variants of wastewater exposure to the electric current: V1—24 h exposure phase; V2—12 h exposure phase/12 h no exposure phase; and V3—12 h no exposure phase/12 h exposure phase. Experiments were conducted with two organic substrates, sodium acetate and acetic acid, at the C/N ratio of 1.25, with a direct current intensity of 1.25 A·m −2 and hydraulic retention time of 24 h. The study results show the feasibility of achieving a satisfactory technological effect in a bio-electrochemical reactor without the need for electric current flow throughout the 24 h treatment cycle. From the energy consumption and technological standpoints, the most viable approach, ensuring 90.4 ± 1.6% and 94.9 ± 0.7% efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus removal, respectively, turned out to be feeding the reactor with sodium acetate and wastewater exposure to the electric current flow only during the first 12 h of the treatment cycle. The scope of the conducted research justifies its continuation in order to determine the optimal time for supplying electricity to the bio-electrochemical reactor and the impact of the C/N value on the nitrogen and COD effluent concentrations.

Keywords: bio-electrochemical reactor; duration of direct current flow; soilless tomato cultivation; wastewater treatment; nutrients and organic carbon removal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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