Evaluation of Bio-kinetic Coefficients in an Activated Sludge Process for the Treatment of Pharmaceutical Wastewater

The pharmaceutical sector manufactures an extensive variety of products by utilizing a combination of organic and inorganic raw materials, which leads to the generation of significant quantities of liquid waste. The concept for evaluation of these critical paramenters comes with the study of literature and burning issues of the environment, especially for pharmaceutical wastewater. This waste is characterized by its toxicity, resistance to biodegradation, and complex organic composition, often accompanied by elevated levels of inorganic total dissolved solids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The pharmaceutical wastewater has a wide spectrum of characteristics in pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The nature of pH is mildly acidic (5.2), COD ranges between 6,000 and 3,000mg/L, and BOD varies from 940 to 900mg/L. This research primarily aims to evaluate the bio-kinetic coefficients by treating pharmaceutical wastewater with an activated sludge process conducted on a pilot plant scale. Due to the novelty in evaluating the bio-kinetics of pharmaceutical wastewater the key could lie in developing an integrated modeling approach that combines real-time microbial activity monitoring to predict degradation rates of complex organic compounds, offering a more precise and dynamic assessment compared to traditional batch kinetic studies. Kmax, Ks, Kd, Y, and μmax were determined to have the following values: 2.09 d⁻¹, 55.41mg/l, 0.075 d⁻¹, 0.302g VSS/g COD, and 0.642 d⁻¹ by altering the input variables, i.e., mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), retention time, etc. The study was conducted over a three-month time interval, i.e., on a quarterly basis, for the evaluation of bio-kinetic parameters. In the current study, the removal of COD was observed between 92% and 97% with the activated sludge process. The R² score ranges from 0.8356 to 0.9270, demonstrating a better fit between the results and the model utilized for the study. Apart from the evaluation of biokinetic studies of pharmaceutical wastewater, the other goals of the current study include producing high-quality effluent and disposing of it without affecting aquatic life or the environment, as well as reducing the pollution load from wastewater generated in the form of hazardous compounds/non-biodegradable substances. We may conclude that the results then obtained for the bio-kinetic parameters are within the acceptable range as per the available literature.