Microbial interaction during the anaerobic treatment of swine manure slurry in a sequencing batch reactor.

Masse, DJ. and Droste, R.L. 1997. Microbial interaction during the anaerobic treatment of swine manure slurry in a sequencing batch reactor. Can. Agric. Eng. 39:035-041. A simple model that simulates the Psychrophilic Anaerobic Digestion (PAD) of swine manure slurry in a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) is developed and verified. The model predictions have been compared with corresponding laboratory results. The trends in volatile acids and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) accumulation as well as the methane production rate were reasonably well predicted. The percent error of estimate ranged between 12 and 37. The model is a useful tool to study the influence of SBR operating strategies on the dynamic interaction between the acid and methane formers.