Projects Profile
Project Title
Anaerobic biological treatment process of waste metal working fluids
Partnership
Prof. Dr Ken Bruce / Dr David J Barlow, King’s College London
Prof. Jun Yang, Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics
Project Aim
Research carried out at King’s and the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics (BUAA) has supported development of a novel biodegradation process of MWF using anaerobic process.
This project will draw on the research expertise from both King’s and BUAA and will transform the microbiology knowledge and bioreactor development expertise into a novel bioprocess for degradation of MWF using anaerobic microbes system with a byproduct released being in the form of a clean energy (methane gas) instead of the traditional green gas CO2 in the conventional biodegradation processes.
Inspiration for the projects
Metal working fluids (MWF) are lubricating coolants, extensively employed for manufacture of metal products. They are chemically complex (oils, amine propoxylate, biocides), toxic in nature, with high chemical oxygen loading (COD 20,000-50,000 mg/l), which makes their safe disposal problematic.
Worldwide 22.4x109 l/pa of waste MWF are produced, at an estimated disposal cost of £16 million in the UK alone. In China, MWF is listed on the National Dangerous Wastes Directory (2008, code: 900-006-09) as toxic waste. Last two decade, China has experienced huge growth in manufacturing, and gained a reputation as the “world factory”, with annual sales are estimated to growing by 15-20%, with waste MWF generation in the region of 4x108 l/pa. Therefore, safely disposal of such polluting liquid is increasingly becoming an urgent technology needs.
With complementary strength in expertise, King’s and BUAA joint forces to develop a novel microbiologically based technology for the anaerobic treatment of waste MWF in bioreactors, reducing COD to regulatory consent disposal level. . The key aim of this study is treat the problematic waste anaerobically to achieve a high efficiency of MWF conversion anaerobically and to produce a valuable clean energy source, methane at the same time, instead of the conventional generation of CO2 as a byproduct in the conventional aerobical biodegradation process.
Commercial Potential and Further Development
The outcome of the project will produce a marketable prototype of a novel MFW biodegradation and clean energy generation processing system that can be shown across or licensed to a variety of industries, not just the metal manufacturing industry. The prototype system will be highly desirable for environmental and industrial waste processing and energy industries.
The technology has attracted strong industry interests. Numerous of enquiries have been received, and some company has expressed keen interests in accessing the technology upon the project completion.
