Seeding Phase of Restaurant Wastewater Treatment with and
without Addition of Bioballs
Herawati Budiastuti
a
, Silmi Nurul Ulya
b
, Yanti Rachmawati
c
, Tifa Paramitha
d
,
Emma Hermawati Muhari
e
and Laily Isna Ramadhani
f
Chemical Engineering Department, Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Jl. Gegerkalong Hilir, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Bioballs, Parameters, Restaurant Wastewater, Seeding Phase.
Abstract: Until now, industrial wastewater and domestic wastewater, including restaurant wastewater have not been
managed optimally in Indonesia. A prototype of activated sludge reactor with and without bioballs has been
designed and constructed in 2021 but due to several obstacles in operating this aerobic treatment system
equipment and ineffective attachment of microorganisms, this research was conducted. The reactor added
bioballs (RB) and another reactor without addition of bioballs (RWB) were used to treat the restaurant
wastewater from a food industry in Bandung, Indonesia. Parameters observed were MLVSS, COD, and
reactor pH. Seeding phase could be conducted successfully in both reactors. The maximum MLVSS in the
RB was 79,003 mg/L whereas in RWB was 79,132 mg/L. The COD removal in RB decreased from the highest
value of 7,895 mg/L to 4,668 mg/L whereas in RWB decreased from the highest value of 11,941 mg/L to
5,026 mg/L. The values of pH were in the range of 8.3 to 8.6 in both reactors. It means that the function of
bioballs as attachment media for microorganism during the seeding phase has not been shown, however, the
seeding phase in both reactors could be continued to the next phase, which is the acclimatization phase.
1 INTRODUCTION
The food and beverage industry is one of the fastest
growing industries in Indonesia because this industry
is a strategic business in meeting everyone's basic
needs. The development of the food and beverage
industry is accompanied by an increase in the
discharge of wastewater from this industry and
similar industries into water bodies. Until now,
wastewater from industry and domestic purposes
originating from household waste has not been
managed optimally in Indonesia. Domestic
wastewater includes used washing water, kitchen and
toilet wastewater, in which this type of wastewater is
the biggest contributor to water pollution that must be
handled especially because of its high organic matter
contents (Amri and Wesen, 2013; Ramadhani et al.,
2020).
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9971-9717
b
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4762-7305
c
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6739-7127
d
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8904-7846
e
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2351-0305
f
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0365-4937
In compliance with the Regulation of the Minister
of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of
Indonesia Number: P.68/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/8/
2016 (Minister of Environment and Forestry of the
Republic of Indonesia, 2016), concerning domestic
wastewater pollution, there are still many food and
beverage industries, and small and medium-sized
industries whose effluent waste does not meet the
specified quality standards. Domestic wastewater
pollution parameters consist of COD, BOD, TSS, pH,
ammonia, oil and fat parameters and total coliform.
The fulfilment of domestic wastewater quality
standards will be realized when the wastewater is
treated before being discharged into water bodies.
One of the food industries in Bandung, Indonesia
has tried to treat its industrial wastewater by adding a
grease trap to catch the oil and grease in its
wastewater, but in its biological processing,
68
Budiastuti, H., Ulya, S., Rachmawati, Y., Paramitha, T., Muhari, E. and Ramadhani, L.
Seeding Phase of Restaurant Wastewater Treatment with and without Addition of Bioballs.
DOI: 10.5220/0011712300003575
In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science (iCAST-ES 2022), pages 68-72
ISBN: 978-989-758-619-4; ISSN: 2975-8246
Copyright © 2024 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
inconsistent results in meeting wastewater quality
standards have been found. The biological treatment
used is activated sludge treatment where
microorganisms that decompose organic compounds
in wastewater grow suspended in an activated sludge
reactor owned by this industry (Sukmana and Rifa’i,
2020).
One of the wastewater treatment methods
containing high concentrations of organic compounds
such as wastewater owned by the food and beverage
industry is aerobic biological treatment. The aerobic
biological treatment method that is widely used by
industry in Indonesia is the activated sludge treatment
system (Sudarman et al., 2020).
To streamline the performance of microorganisms
in the activated sludge treatment system, it is
necessary to add bioballs as media for attaching
aerobic bacteria. Thus, the performance of
microorganisms that grow in suspension can be
assisted with microorganisms that grow attached to
the bioballs. Decomposition of pollutants in
wastewater becomes more effective with the presence
of bioball media as a breeding ground for
microorganisms (Said and Utomo, 2007).
Bioball media has several advantages, including
its ability to minimize the occurrence of clogging and
can maintain good aeration (Astuti and Ayu, 2019).
In addition, bioballs are lightweight, easy to wash
again, and have a fairly large specific area, and they
are easy to install (randomly) so that the small
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) package is
very suitable (Said and Utomo, 2007). Based on these
previous studies, a prototype activated sludge reactor
with bioball has been designed and constructed in
2021 (Paramitha et al., 2021). However, due to
several obstacles in the operation of the aerobic
treatment system equipment and the results of
ineffective attachment of microorganisms, this
research is proposed.
The complete final results of this study are
expected to provide input for the food and beverage
industry in solving the problem of inconsistent results
in meeting wastewater quality standards of their
domestic wastewater treatment. In addition, the
results of this study can be used to increase the
competence of chemical engineering students of
Politeknik Negeri Bandung, in terms of wastewater
treatment practices by using treatment system
technology that is more up to date.
2 METHODS
2.1 Preparation of Equipment and
Materials
The main equipment in this research is a prototype set
of activated sludge system with bioballs (RB) and a
set of activated sludge system without bioballs
(RWB). Each reactor system completed with a
feeding tank of 9.1 L and an aeration tank of 15.7 L.
The number of bioballs added in the RB was 150
pieces. The diameter of bioball is 3 cm with its
surface area of 200 – 235 m
2
/m
3
. Aerators used in
both reactors were Resun 9906 type. By applying
these aerators, the DO in both reactors could be
maintained > 2 mg/L (Budiastuti et al., 2021).
Supporting equipment includes measuring flask,
volume pipette, beaker glass, hotplate and stirrer,
burette, Erlenmeyer, glass funnel, porcelain cup,
desiccator, oven, furnace, and pH meter. Hach tubes,
and Hach COD digester were used to measure the
COD of the samples.
The chemicals used as nutrients for
microorganisms include glucose, KNO
3
, and
KH
2
PO
4
. The materials used in the analysis process
include K
2
Cr
2
O
7
, 98% H
2
SO
4
, ferrous ammonium
sulphate (FAS), ferroin indicator, KH
2
PO
4
, K
2
HPO
4
,
Na
2
HPO
4
, MgSO
4
.7H
2
O, FeCl
3
.6H
2
O, CaCl
2
, NaOH,
HCl, aquadest, and filter paper.
Wastewater from a restaurant in the Bandung
area, Indonesia was used to represent the food
industry wastewater, while activated sludge as the
source for starter of microorganisms was obtained
from activated sludge of a food industry in West Java,
Indonesia.
2.2 Seeding Stage
The seeding process was carried out by growing
microorganisms to be suspended and attached to the
surface of the bioballs. The seeding process was
carried out in a natural way, namely by flowing
restaurant wastewater into an aeration tank that does
not contain bioballs and an aeration tank contains
bioballs to form a biofilm layer that will cover the
bioballs. The volume of activated sludge used was
2.75 L for RB and 3.235 L for RWB. To obtain the
hydraulic retention time (HRT) in each reactor system
of 6 days, the feeding rate in each reactor system was
adjusted to the active volume of RB and of RWB.
The seeding process took 12 days with HRT of 6
days. Initial nutrition for microorganisms given was
400 mg COD/L. Nutrients were made synthetically
by mixing glucose with nitrogen and phosphorus
Seeding Phase of Restaurant Wastewater Treatment with and without Addition of Bioballs
69
sources in the form of KNO
3
and KH
2
PO
4
at a ratio
of 100:5:1 (Hamza et al., 2019). Sampling was carried
out once a day followed by checking of pH,
temperature, DO, and MLVSS. In addition, the
operating temperature was not specially maintained
to make it easier for related industries when applying
this technology.
2.3 Analysis Stage
The analysis carried out during the seeding stage, and
also acclimatization, and main experimental stages
was pH, MLVSS, COD, and TSS. Determination of
pH was using a pH meter, MLVSS using the
gravimetric method, COD using the SNI
6989.73:2009 method, TSS using the SNI 06-6989.3-
2004 method. The success indicator of this research
is the increase of MLVSS as representation of the
growth of microorganisms. Reactor pH is at the range
of neutral pH. In addition, the removal of organic
compounds in the form of COD were also observed.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Raw Material Characteristics
This study used the main raw materials, namely
activated sludge and restaurant wastewater. The
restaurant wastewater used is cloudy yellow in
colour, emits a distinctive odour from food residue, is
runny, and has sediment originating from food scraps
that are carried away. Restaurant wastewater was
previously tested with COD (Chemical Oxygen
Demand) parameters and the value was 9000 mg/L.
Therefore, pre-treatment was carried out by diluting
restaurant wastewater to 1000 mg/L and 3000 mg/L
respectively as feed during the operation stage.
Restaurant wastewater that had been diluted was put
into a refrigerator, this was done so that no chemical
or physical changes occur during the research
process. The characteristics of the restaurant
wastewater used in this study are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Wastewater characteristics.
Characteristics COD
(
m
g
/L
)
pH TSS
(
m
g
/L
)
Restaurant wastewater
P.68/Menlhk/Setjen/
Kum.1/8/2016
9,000
100
3.24
6 - 9
83
30
3.2 Seeding Phase – Reactor with
Bioballs (RB)
MLVSS in RB during the seeding stage showed an
upward trend (Figure 1). The highest MLVSS value
was found on the 9th day of 79,003 mg/L, while the
lowest MLVSS was on the 5th day of 57,911 mg/L.
The increase in MLVSS in RB occur gradually from
day 5 to day 9. If we consider the increase in MLVSS
from the first day, during 9 days of operation the
MLVSS which represents the concentration of
microorganisms has increased by 7,226 mg/L or by
10%. The next test parameter is COD (Chemical
Oxygen Demand) which is a parameter of oxygen
demand needed by microorganisms in degrading
organic compounds in wastewater. The following is
the COD curve for RB during the seeding process
(Figure 2).
Figure 1: MLVSS during the seeding process (RB).
Figure 2: COD concentration during the seeding process
(RB).
Based on Figure 2 the COD value of RB during
the seeding stage showed a decrease trend starting
from the third day. The COD RB value, which was
71777
62857
57911
67536
79003
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
012345678910
MLVSS(mg/L)
Days
5428
7895
6979
5875
4668
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
012345678910
COD(mg/L)
Days
iCAST-ES 2022 - International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science
70
initially 5,428 mg/L to become 4,668 mg/L on day 9
shows a decrease efficiency of about 14%. The next
test parameter on RB is pH. The following is the pH
curve of the seeding process (Figure 3). Based on
Figure 3 the pH in the seeding process in RB is in the
range of 8.43-8.62. This proves that the pH obtained
is still within the safe limit of neutral pH, which is in
the range of 6-9.
Figure 3: pH during the seeding process (RB).
3.3 Seeding Phase – Reactor without
Bioballs (RWB)
Based on Figure 4 the MLVSS value in the RWB
during the seeding stage showed an increase. The
increase in MLVSS is an increase in the quantity of
microorganisms. The highest value of MLVSS in
RWB on day 1 was 82,472 mg/L and the lowest value
on day 3 was 47,211 mg/L. Even though there was a
decrease in MLVSS in the first 3 days, the MLVSS
value on the following days increased. For this
reason, it is necessary to look at the decrease in the
COD value (Figure 5) with a decrease in MLVSS of
about 4% for 9 days of operation.
Figure 4: MLVSS during the seeding process (RWB).
Figure 5: COD during the seeding process (RWB).
Based on Figure 5 the COD value in RWB during
the seeding stage showed a decrease. The COD value
in RWB was 11,941 mg/L to 5,026 mg/L with a
decreasing efficiency of 57.91%, even though on the
7th and 9th days the COD values were relatively
constant with a difference of only 4.8%. The next
parameter is pH during seeding in RWB which is
shown in Figure 6. The pH obtained is still within the
safe limit of neutral pH, which is in the range of 6-9.
From the result parameters observed in both RB and
RWB, both system of reactors are ready to be
continued to the next stage, which is the
acclimatization stage. During the seeding phase, the
function of bioballs to be used as media attachment of
microorganisms has not been shown. It will be
observed during the acclimatization process and the
main experiment, as further processes which can
show the real function of bioballs addition in this
system.
Figure 6. pH during the seeding process (RWB).
Paramitha et al. (2021) found the same
observation that during the seeding phase, addition of
bioballs has not shown its function. During 15 days
of operation, the MLVSS in the activated sludge
8,43
8,56
8,62
8,44
8,35
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
012345678910
pH
Days
82472
47211
55618
67790
79132
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
012345678910
MLVSS(mg/L)
Days
11941
9106
6855
5266
5026
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
012345678910
COD (mg/L)
Days
8,24
8,34
8,43
8,37
8,21
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
012345678910
pH
Days
Seeding Phase of Restaurant Wastewater Treatment with and without Addition of Bioballs
71
reactor increased from 585 mg/L to become 1,120
mg/L whereas MLVSS in the activated sludge reactor
added bioballs increased from 380 mg/L to become
1,065 mg/L. The removal efficiencies in the form of
COD removal were almost the same in both reactor
types.
Another group of researchers (Temitope and
Abayomi, 2022) observed that degradation of
restaurant wastewater treated by a different method,
i.e. electro coagulation resulted in low percentages in
COD removal. During operation of 30 minutes of
retention time only 12.58% removal efficiency was
obtained. During operation of 60 and 90 minutes of
retention time, removal efficiencies were only
21.13% and 25.83%, respectively. They obtained
better improvement of COD removal by increasing
the retention time, however, still low results were
obtained.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Seeding of restaurant wastewater treatment can be
conducted successfully in both reactors, with (RB)
and without bioballs (RWB). The maximum MLVSS
in the RB was 79,003 mg/L whereas in RWB was
79,132 mg/L. The COD removal in RB decreased
from the highest value of 7,895 mg/L to 4,668 mg/L
whereas in RWB decreased from the highest value of
11,941 mg/L to 5,026 mg/L. The values of pH were
in the range of 8.3 to 8.6 in both reactors. It means
that the function of bioballs as attachment media for
microorganism has not been shown. However, based
on the research results parameters, the seeding phase
in both reactors could be continued to the next phase,
which is the acclimatization phase.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Financial support throught the Applied Research
Scheme No. B/66.5/PL1.R7/PG.00.03/2022 and
supporting equipment provided by Politeknik Negeri
Bandung are greatly appreciated.
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