The effect of organic loading rate (OLR) on a pressurized anaerobic filter was studied in a laboratory two-phase anaerobic digestion system. The anaerobic filter was operated successively at two working pressures (9 bar and 1.5 bar). The OLR(COD) for each pressure was increased from 5 to 17.5 kg·m·day. The best performance of the reactor at 9 bar was observed at OLR(COD) of 12.5 kg·m·day and hy...

This study investigated the effect of changes in organic loading rate (OLR) and feedstock on the volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production and their potential use as a bioengineering management tool to improve stability of anaerobic digesters. Digesters were exposed to one or two changes in OLR using the same or different co-substrates (Fat Oil and Grease waste (FOG) and/or glycerol). Although all...

Particle size may significantly affect the speed and stability of anaerobic digestion, and matching the choice of particle size reduction equipment to digester type can thus determine the success or failure of the process. In the current research the organic fraction of municipal solid waste was processed using a combination of a shear shredder, rotary cutter and wet macerator to produce stream...

The granular sludge process is an effective, low-footprint alternative to conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment. The architecture of the microbial granules allows the co-existence of different functional groups, e.g., nitrifying and denitrifying communities, which permits compact reactor design. However, little is known about the factors influencing community assembly in granular s...

In this paper, results ofa new sand filter design were presented. The drawer compacted sand filter (DCSF) is a modified design for a sand filter in which the sand layer is broken down into several layers, each of which is 10 cm high and placed in a movable drawer separated by a 10 cm space. A lab-scale DCSF was designed and operated for 330 days fed by synthetic grey water. The response of draw...

Using a high-salinity-adapted inoculum and a moderate stepwise-increased organic loading rate (OLR), a stable digester performance was achieved in treating sludge from a brackish aquaculture recirculation system. The specific methane yield was distinctly enhanced, reaching 0.203LCH4/gCODadded, compared to literature values (0.140-0.154LCH4/gCODadded) from the salty sludges. OLR adjustment and t...

In this study, we designed a microbial electrochemical fluidized bed reactor (ME-FBR), with an electroconductive anodic bed made of activated carbon particles for treating a brewery wastewater. Under a batch operating mode, acetate and propionate consumption rates were 13-fold and 2.4-fold higher, respectively, when the fluidized anode was polarized (0.2 V) with respect to open circuit conditio...

The new attached growth sponge tray bioreactor (STB) was evaluated at different operating conditions for removing organics and nutrients from primary treated sewage effluent. This STB was also assessed when using as a pre-treatment prior to micro-filtration (MF) for reducing membrane fouling. At a short hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 40 min, the STB could remove up to 92% of DOC and 40-56% o...

Four organic loading disturbances were performed in lab-scale EGSB reactors fed with ethanol. In load disturbance 1 (LD1) and 2 (LD2), the organic loading rate (OLR) was increased between 5 and 18.5 kg COD m(-3) day(-1), through the influent ethanol concentration increase, and the hydraulic retention time decrease from 7.8 to 2.5 h, respectively. Load disturbances 3 (LD3) and 4 (LD4) were appli...

Approximately 400 KL of spent wash or vinasse per annum is generated at an average COD concentration of 100,000 mg/l, by over 250 distilleries in India. There is an urgent need to develop, assess and use ecofriendly methods for the disposal of this high strength wastewater. Therefore, an attempt was made to investigate a few aspects of anaerobic digestion of spent wash collected from a distille...