Effect of Inlet Pressure on the Biodegradability Index of Cavitated Herbal Waste

Magdalena Lebiocka (), Agnieszka Montusiewicz () and Aleksandra Szaja
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Magdalena Lebiocka: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Montusiewicz: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Aleksandra Szaja: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effect of inlet pressure on the index of biodegradability of cavitated herbal waste (HW) following its suspension in mechanically treated wastewater (MTW) for further biological processes. Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) was carried out at inlet pressures of 3.5, 5.0, and 7.0 bar. The BOD 5 /COD ratio increased by 30% between the 5th and 10th minutes of the process, with the inlet pressure amounting to 3.5 bar, which indicated increased biodegradability of HW. For the higher inlet pressures used, the value of the biodegradability index (BI) increased by 23% and 13% for 5.0 and 7.0 bar, respectively, after 60 min of the process. The value of COD as well as the VS, TS, TC and TOC concentrations dropped for each analyzed inlet pressure, which indicated that complex organic compounds were effectively destroyed. The highest disintegration degree (DDCOD) was achieved with an inlet pressure of 3.5 bar. SEM analysis was performed to analyze the changing morphological structure of the HW. It was proven that the structural morphology of the herbal waste was significantly influenced by hydrodynamic cavitation, which could affect subsequent biological processing.

Keywords: lignocellulosic biomass; herbal waste; hydrodynamic cavitation; pretreatment; biodegradability; SEM analysis (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: 2024
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