ABSTRACT

Methanol is an important volatile organic compound present in the gaseous and liquid effluents of process industries such as pulp and paper, paint manufacturing and petroleum refineries. Through anaerobic biological treatment of gaseous and liquid industrial effluents rich in methanol or methane, resource recovery is possible by the production of economically important by-products like volatile fatty acids (VFA). VFA have a wide range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical and polymer industries and as energy source for the biological removal of nutrients from wastewater. Methanol is a common electron donor for the biological treatment of industrial effluents laden with oxyanions such as sulfate, selenate and nitrate. VFA are an important by-product formed during the anaerobic treatment of methanol-rich effluents from the pulp and paper industry, and other high organic content waste streams like sewage sludge, food and fermentation waste. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.