UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactors have been recognized as a viable option for sewage treatment. However, in order to improve the effluent quality, some type of post-treatment must be implemented. The aims this study were (i) establish start-up methodology full-scale anaerobic–aerobic system treating sewage, (ii) evaluate concentrations different constituents influent and aerobic w...

Studies on bench scale reactors packed with two different media matrix – Biopac media and Fugino spirals were undertaken to determine the performance at various organic loading rate (OLR) and on one day hydraulic retention time (HRT). Parboiled rice mill wastewater depicted a COD/BOD ratio of 1.6 indicating good degradable nature of the wastewater. Four different organic loadings of 0.8, 1.6, 2...

Two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors were operated to investigate the fate of aromatic amines under denitrifying conditions. The feed consisted of synthetic wastewater containing aniline and/or sulfanilic acid and a mixture of volatile fatty acids (VFA) as the primary electron donors. Reactor 1 (R1) contained a stoichiometric concentration of nitrate and Reactor 2 (R2) a stoichio...

The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and phenol concentration on the degradation of phenol and p-cresol in wastewater were investigated in two respective UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactors with effluent recirculation at 37 oC for over 440 days. After acclimation, nearly all the phenol and p-cresol at moderate concentrations could be degraded without carbohydrate as a co-su...

The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of adding cultures of Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans to two upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors: one inoculated with granular sludge and the other filled only with activated carbon (AC). The performances of the bioreactors and the changes in biomass were compared with a non-bioaugmented control UASB react...

Methanogenic aggregates, harvested from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating potato starch wastewater, were acclimatized to either glucose or a mixture of sugars and organic nitrogen compounds (i.e., diluted molasses). Both types of granules exhibited internal pH and substrate concentration gradients in mineral medium (pH 7.0, 30 degrees C) as was measured with microelectrodes. G...

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) involves the microbiological oxidation of ammonium with nitrite as the electron acceptor and dinitrogen gas as the main product. The Scalindua species, an anammox genus that dominates natural habitats, plays an important role in catalysing the loss of nitrogen from marine environments. Until now, a few Scalindua species have been reported to be enriched fr...

Image analysis techniques were developed and applied to quantify the process of anaerobic granulation in an expanded granular sludge blanket reactor (EGSB) fed with a synthetic substrate based on glucose [60-30% COD (chemical oxygen demand)] and volatile fatty acids (40-70% COD) over 376 days. In a first operation period that lasted 177 days, the aggregation of dispersed sludge was quantitative...