Effect of Organic Loading on Production of Methane Biogas from Tofu Wastewater Treatment by UASB Reactor

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of organic loading on the change of produced methane biogas and some wastewater parameters (i.e., BOD, MLSS, and ammonia) of the Up flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanked (UASB) reactor in treating tofu wastewater. The reactor was studied at different organic loadings (BOD loading) ranging from 5 g, 10 g, 15 g, and 20 g. The fermentation time are 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days. The temperature in the reactor was maintained at 29 - 32 degrees C. The results of the research indicate that the production of biogas increased along with the increasing amount of organic loading. The best value of organic loading was 25 g, maximum fermentation time to produce biogas is 10 days, and the total volume of biogas produced is 0.494 L. The biogas produced contains methane (85%), CO2 (14.5%), and CO (0.5%).