Performance of a hybrid anaerobic reactor, combining a sludge blanket and a filter, treating slaughterhouse wastewater

A column reactor, in which the bottom two-thirds were occupied by a sludge blanket and the upper one-third by submerged clay rings, was evaluated using slaughterhouse wastewater as substrate. The reactor was operated at 35°C at loading rates varying from 5 g to 45 g chemical oxygen demand (COD) 1−1 × day−1 at an influent concentration of 2450 mg COD 1−1. A maximum substrate removal rate of 32 g COD 1−1 × day−1, coupled with a methane production rate of 6.91 × 1−1 × day−1 (STP), was obtained. This removal rate is significantly higher than those previously reported. The rate of substrate utilization by the biomass was 1.22 g COD (g volatile suspended solids)−1 day−1. COD removal was over 96% with loading rates up to 25 g COD 1−1 × day−1, at higher loading rates performance decreased rapidly. It was found that the filter element of the reactor was highly efficient in retaining biomass, leading to a biomass accumulation yield coefficient of 0.029 g volatile suspended solids g−1 COD, higher than reported previously for either upflow anaerobic sludge-blanket reactors or anaerobic filters operating independently.

[1]  Wolfgang Peter Tritt,et al.  The anaerobic treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater in fixed-bed reactors , 1991 .

[2]  Gatze Lettinga,et al.  Anaerobic treatment of slaughterhouse waste using a flocculant sludge UASB-reactor , 1984 .

[3]  M. Bull,et al.  Developments in anaerobic treatment of high strength industrial waste waters , 1984 .

[4]  Rafael Borja,et al.  Influence of the support on the kinetics of anaerobic purification of slaughterhouse wastewater , 1993 .

[5]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[6]  Tom Stephenson,et al.  Evaluation of startup and operation of four anaerobic processes treating a synthetic meat waste , 1986, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[7]  Serge R. Guiot,et al.  Assessment of macroenergetic parameters for an anaerobic upflow biomass bed and filter (UBF) reactor , 1989, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[8]  J. S. Jeris.  Industrial Wastewater Treatment Using Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactors , 1983 .

[9]  R. Borja,et al.  Influence of the microorganism support on the kinetics of anaerobic fermentation of condensation water from thermally concentrated olive mill wastewater , 1992, Biodegradation.

[10]  G. Metzner,et al.  Operation and Optimization of a Full-Scale Fixed-Bed Reactor for Anaerobic Digestion of Animal Rendering Waste Water , 1990 .

[11]  Gatze Lettinga,et al.  New Technologies for Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment , 1986 .

[12]  S. Sayed,et al.  The performance of a continuously operated flocculent sludge UASB reactor with slaughterhouse wastewater , 1988 .

[13]  G. Lettinga,et al.  Anaerobic treatment of slaughterhouse waste using a granular sludge UASB reactor. , 1987 .

[14]  Eugenio Foresti,et al.  Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment in the Food Processing Industry: Two Case Studies , 1986 .

[15]  J. L. P. Rodríguez,et al.  Behaviour of sepiolite, vermiculite and montmorillonite as supports in anaerobic digesters , 1989 .