Inhibition of anaerobic digestion process: A review

Evolution of Protein Molecules

Application of low-cost adsorbents for dye removal – A review

Removal of synthetic dyes from wastewaters: a review.

Principles and potential of the anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge

In recent years considerable effort has been made in the Netherlands toward the development of a more sophisticated anaerobic treatment process, suitable for treating low a strength wastes and for applications at liquid detention times of 3–4 hr. The efforts have resulted in new type of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process, which in recent 6 m3 pilot-plant experiments has shown to be capable of handling organic space loads of 15–40 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD)·m−3/day at 3–8 hr liquid detention times. In the first 200 m3 full-scale plant of the UASB concept, organic space loadings of up to 16 kg COD·m−3/day could be treated satisfactorily at a detention times of 4 hr, using sugar beet waste as feed. The main results obtained with the process in the laboratory as well as in 6 m3 pilot plant and 200 m3 full-scale experiments are presented and evaluated in this paper. Special attention is given to the main operating characteristics of the UASB reactor concept. Moreover, some preliminary results are presented of laboratory experiments concerning the use of the USB reactor concept for denitrification as well as for the acid formation step in anaerobic treatment. For both purposes the process looks feasible because very satisfactory results with respect to denitrification and acid formation can be achieved at very high hydraulic loads (12 day−1) and high organic loading rates, i.e., 20 kg COD·m−3/day in the denitrification and 60–80 kg COD·m−3/day in the acid formation experiments.

Use of the upflow sludge blanket (USB) reactor concept for biological wastewater treatment, especially for anaerobic treatment

Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) wastewater (pre-)treatment systems represent a proven sustainable technology for a wide range of very different industrial effluents, including those containing toxic/inhibitory compounds. The process is also feasible for treatment of domestic wastewater with temperatures as low as 14-16 degrees C and likely even lower. Compared to conventional aerobic treatment systems the anaerobic treatment process merely offers advantages. This especially is true for the rate of start-up. The available insight in anaerobic sludge immobilization (i.e. granulation) and growth of granular anaerobic sludge in many respects suffices for practice. In anaerobic treatment the immobilization of balanced microbial communities is essential, because the concentration of intermediates then can be kept sufficiently low. So far ignored factors like the death and decay rate of organisms are of eminent importance for the quality of immobilized anaerobic sludge. Taking these factors into account, it can be shown that there does not exist any need for 'phase separation' when treating non- or slightly acidified wastewaters. Phase separation even is detrimental in case the acidogenic organisms are not removed from the effluent of the acidogenic reactor, because they deteriorate the settleability of granular sludge and also negatively affect the formation and growth of granular sludge. The growing insight in the role of factors like nutrients and trace elements, the effect of metabolic intermediates and end products opens excellent prospects for process control, e.g. for the anaerobic treatment of wastewaters containing mainly methanol. Anaerobic wastewater treatment can also profitably be applied in the thermophilic and psychrophilic temperature range. Moreover, thermophilic anaerobic sludge can be used under mesophilic conditions. The Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB) system particularly offers big practical potentials, e.g. for very low strength wastewaters (COD << 1 g/l) and at temperatures as low as 10 degrees C. In EGSB-systems virtually all the retained sludge is employed, while compared to UASB-systems also a substantially bigger fraction of the immobilized organisms (inside the granules) participates in the process, because an extraordinary high substrate affinity prevails in these systems. It looks necessary to reconsider theories for mass transfer in immobilized anaerobic biomass. Instead of phasing the digestion process, staging of the anaerobic reactors should be applied. In this way mixing up of the sludge can be significantly reduced and a plug flow is promoted. A staged process will provide a higher treatment efficiency and a higher process stability. This especially applies for thermophilic systems.

Anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment systems

UASB process design for various types of wastewaters

Anaerobic sludge granulation.

A review: the anaerobic treatment of sewage in uasb and egsb reactors

Gatze Lettinga

Papers

Use of the upflow sludge blanket (USB) reactor concept for biological wastewater treatment, especially for anaerobic treatment

Anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment systems

UASB process design for various types of wastewaters

Anaerobic sludge granulation.

A review: the anaerobic treatment of sewage in uasb and egsb reactors