Ideal performance assessment of non-recirculating anaerobic fluidized bed reactors treating low to high strength organic loads with low retention time

• Published in: Process biochemistry (1991) 2024-11, Vol.146, p.262-272
• Main Authors: Ouppatampanon, Tanapong, Rungkitwatananukul, Phatchariya, Thaiboonrod, Sineenat, Pungrasmi, Wiboonluk, Puprasert, Chaiyaporn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anaerobic fluidized bed reactor; biochemistry; biofilm; biomass; fluidized beds; High OLR; Low HRT; Non-recirculation; Polyvinyl alcohol; Streptococcaceae; Veillonellaceae; wastewater
• ISSN: 1359-5113
• DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2024.07.035

This study investigated the ideal performance of non-recirculating Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactors (AnFBRs) for treating organic wastewater of varying strengths under low Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT). Four 4.58 L AnFBRs were used to treat synthetic wastewater with an Organic Loading Rate (OLR) ranging from 4.50 to 40.11 gCOD/L-d, and HRT between 1.1 and 4.4 hours. The AnFBRs achieved high removal efficiencies ranging from 83 % to 96 % at steady state, except during the organic shock load, which reduced removal performance to 12 %. Shortened HRT conditions led to a decreasing trend in reactor pH due to an incomplete anaerobic cycle. The modified Stover-Kincannon model estimated the maximum substrate utilization rate of AnFBR's to be 196.08 gCOD/L-d, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98. Under shortended HRT, microbial diversity analysis identified predominant non-filamentous bacterial families, such as Streptococcaceae and Veillonellaceae, which collaborate during biofilm development in anaerobic environments. It was suggested that the porous media provided secure attachment sites for the biomass growth and biofilm formation under shock load and high shear force conditions. While these results offer valuable insights, further studies are needed to confirm these findings and enhance the understanding of the use porous media in non-recirculating AnFBRs. [Display omitted] •Low-density media allow fluidization in a non-recirculating configuration.•The reactor contributes to good performance under severe conditions.•The downward trend in environmental parameters stands for practical limitation.•Microbial diversity result signifies a new assumption in use of porous media.•Maximum utilization rate 196.08 in unit of organic load present ideal conditions