Premium
Effects of the seed sludge on the performance of UASB reactors for treatment of toxic wastewater
Author(s) -
Dangcong Peng,
Xingwen Zhang,
Qiting Jin,
De Zhang,
Liangkui Xiang
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.280600209
Subject(s) - granulation , effluent , wastewater , sewage treatment , pulp and paper industry , settling , biogas , sewage sludge , sludge bulking , anaerobic exercise , waste management , sewage , sewage sludge treatment , chemistry , bioreactor , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , environmental engineering , biology , materials science , agronomy , engineering , physiology , organic chemistry , composite material
A comparative study of different sludges (anaerobic sewage sludge and anaerobic sewage sludge cultivated for 30 days) as the seed of UASB reactors for treatment of synthetic resin production wastewater was carried out on a laboratory scale. Significant differences in reactor performance were observed. With anaerobic sewage sludge seed, the reactor obtained a 71% COD removal efficiency and produced 2·94 dm 3 biogas per dm 3 wastewater under an organic loading rate of 4·5 kg COD m −3 day −1 . The sludge in the reactor was diffuse and possessed poor settling ability, which led to effluent SS as high as 1200 mg dm −3 . However, with anaerobic sewage sludge cultivated with synthetic substrate for 30 days as a seed, the same reactor gave 78% COD removal efficiency and produced 3·5 dm −3 biogas per dm 3 wastewater at the same loading rate. Moreover, the sludge in the reactor was completely granulated and possessed good settling ability, which resulted in effluent SS as low as 200 mg dm −3 . The granular sludge produced less biomass per gram COD removed than the diffused sludge. Anaerobic sewage sludge cultivated for a short time could form the nuclei of granules for the reactor, allowing granulation to proceed smoothly. Therefore, sludge nuclei are a prerequisite of sludge granulation in UASB reactors for treatment of toxic wastewater.