CIE4485

Wastewater Treatment
Prof.dr.ir. Jules van Lier

10. Anaerobic Reactor Technologies

CT4485 Wastewater Treatment

Lecture 4c: Anaerobic Reactor Technologies
Prof.dr.ir. Jules van Lier
6 December 2012

Delft
University of
Technology

Challenge the future

Sludge digestion
1.septic tank

Donald Cameron, 1895 (UK)

scum layer

sludge
a.height of liquid
b.> 7.5 cm
c. > 30 cm
d.40% of liquid height
e.2/3 of L
f. 1/3 of L
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Sludge digestion

Karl Imhoff, 1905 (Germany)

2. Imhoff tank

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

effluent
sludge feed
settling
settled sludge
sludge digesting
sludge discharge pipe

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Sludge digestion & Wastewater

treatment
3. Clarigester

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

Stander, 1950 (South Africa)

sludge feed
effluent
scum discharge
scum break off
bottom scraper
sludge discharge pipe
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
1930s

Buswell
Industrial
Wastes

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
1955, Shroepfer, USA

Schroepfer
Contact process

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Contact Process (CP)

influent
methane
reactor

Flocculator
or degasifier

effluent
Clarifier

recycle sludge
excess sludge

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

The Anaerobic Contact Process

basic principles:

complete mixing in the digester in order to achieve good contact

between sludge and wastewater

sludge recycling (flow rate generally 80-100 % of the influent flow

rate) in order to maintain a high sludge content in the digester
=> high organic removal efficiency stable operation

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

The anaerobic contact process

type of
waste water
sugar factory

sludge
loading
(kg COD
-1
-1
kg VSS d )

load
(kg COD
-3
-1
m d )

reactor
volume(m3)

COD removal
efficiency (%)

1.3 - 2.0

0.6 - 12.9

2100 - 16000

90 - 95

distillery

0.17 - 0.24

1.5 - 2.5

300 - 1890

90 - 98

citric acid

0.16 - 0.29

1.3 - 4.0

10000

75 - 83

yeast factory

0.24 - 0.37

2.8 - 3.9

1900

77 - 82

0.13

0.88

84

green vegetable 0.11 - 0.28

cannery

2.0 - 4.2

5000

90 - 95

pectin factory

0.03 - 0.22

1.7 - 5.3

3000 - 3618

88 - 93

starch factory

1.4

3.6

900

65

0.8 - 4.8

2670 - 7117

88 - 95

dairy

meat processing 0.5 - 1.1

works

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater Treatment: UASB

1970s, Gatze Lettinga, The Netherlands

Lettinga
UASB

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 10

Development of high-rate anaerobic

treatment systems
Completely mixed

Physical retention

Immobilised
biomass

(Bio)gas
influent

effluent

Relative
capacity: 1

Relative
capacity: 5

Relative
capacity: 25

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 11

Early full-scale UASB for sugar mill effluent (CSM,1976)

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 12

Anaerobic Granular Sludge

Sorry guys..,
I only appear
when Dutch
men are
around!

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 13

Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB)

Reactors
Biogas
Effective use of granular sludge !!
Effluent

Main Features
- High upflow velocities (> 8 m/h)
- High concentration of bio-catalyst
- Extreme loading rates (20-40 kg/m3.d)
- Virtually no mass transfer limitation
- Very small footprint

Granular
sludge

Application:
- cost effective alternative for UASB (2-3 times
higher load)
- Cold wastewaters (< 20C)
- Dilute wastewaters ( < 1 g COD/l)
- Presence of degradable toxic compounds
- LCFA containing wastewaters
- Wastewaters with foaming problems in UASB

Influent

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 14

Development of high-rate anaerobic

treatment systems
Completely mixed

Physical retention

Immobilised
biomass

Enhanced
contact

(Bio)gas
effluent

influent

Relative
capacity: 1

Relative
capacity: 5

Relative
capacity: 25
Relative
capacity: 75

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 15

From UASB to EGSB

Biogas
Effluent
Biogas

Effluent

Settler
1

1
2

2
2

Sludge blanket

Recycle

Sludge bed
Sludge bed

Influent
1. Sludge/biomass inlet
2. Gas baffle plates
3. Return settled sludge

Influent

1. Sludge/water mixture
2. Settled sludge
Biothane Systems International
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 16

Application of Multi-layer settling system

Polypropylene settlers

Less PP per m2/ No tropical hardwood

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 17

Developments Technical/Technological
Biopaq - UASB

Biopaq - IC

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 18

Developments Technical/Technological
Increasing diameter of Biopaq - IC

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 19

Developments Technical/Technological
1987 : 2,8 m
2008 : 15 m

100 tpd COD

per reactor

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 20

10

Developments Technical/Technological
1989 : 6 x 3,2 m
1996 : 1 x 8 m

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 21

Full scale AWWT at beer brewery

IC

UASB
Beer, NL

Paper,
China
Heineken,
Den Bosch
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 22

11

Chemical Wastewater Treatment

COD: 40 kg/m3, of which:

- Formaldehyde 20 kg/m3
- Methanol 10 kg/m3
Possible to treat with
a UASB??

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 23

Chemical Wastewater Treatment

Amended process design to prevent toxicity in anaerobic stage
Total COD: 40 g/l
Formaldehyde: 20 g/l

Fe + micro
Caustic

Flare

Yeast extr.

98% efficiency
17 kg COD/m3.day

Macro nut.
Buffertank
150 m3
Conditioning
tank
20 m3

Biobed
145 m3/h

Waste water
120 m3/d

reactor
275 m3

To Carrousel
5 m3/h

5 m3/h

150 m3/h

Influent : recycle ratio = 1 : 30 !!

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 24

12

Fluidized Bed Systems

Biogas

Upflow Anaerobic
Attached Fixed Film
Expanded Bed (EB)

Effluent

Attached Growth
Anaerobic Fluidised
Bed (FB)

Influent

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 25

FB reactors rebuilt to EGSB reactors at

DSM-yeast factory, Delft

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 26

13

Anaerobic Attached Growth Processes

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 27

Anaerobic Filter Systems (1)

Upflow Anaerobic
Filters (UAF)

Downflow Stationary
Fixed Film (DSFF)
Biogas

Biogas

Effluent

Influent

Recycle

Effluent

Influent
Recycle

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 28

14

Anaerobic Filter Systems (2)

Upflow Anaerobic Filter (UAF)
based on:
- attachment of a biofilm to a solid (stationary) carrier material
- sedimentation and entrapment of sludge particles between the
interstices of the packing material
- formation of well settling sludge aggregates
Major disadvantage
- difficult to realise required contact between sludge and wastewater
- applicable loads are relatively low, I.e. generally below 10 kgCOD/m3.day

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 29

Anaerobic Filter Systems (3)

Downflow Stationary Fixed Film (DSFF)

Attached Anaerobic Film (AFF)
Sludge retention based on:
Attachment of biomass to the packing.
(sludge retention is relatively low, because hardly any suspended
material retained)
- generally no channelling problems
- low loading potentials

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 30

15

Historically applied anaerobic processes

(1981 2007 (Jan.) N= 2266)
IC

15%

EGSB 12%
AF 6%

CSTR 7%
LAG 4%
HYBR 3%
FB 2%
* 1%

UASB
50%

(Granular) sludge bed based: 77%

* References with incomplete

data (1%)
Source: Worldref. 04-2007

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 31

Currently Applied Anaerobic Processes

(2002 2007 (Jan.), N= 610)
Expanded Bed Reactors: 55%
EGSB 22%

IC
33%

AF 1%
CSTR 4%
LAG 1%
HYBR 2%
FB 2%
* 1%
* References with incomplete
data (1%)
Source: Worldref. 04-2007

(Granular) sludge bed

based: 89%

UASB
34%
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 32

16

Full Scale Expanded Bed versus

UASB Systems
90%

UASB

UASB

80%

HIGH RATE (EGSB+FB+IC)

Percentage of yearly projects

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

Expanded Bed (EGSB, IC, FB)

10%

0%
1980

1985

1990

1995

Year

2000

2005

2010

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 33

Novel development: Aerobic MBR applications /

potential Anaerobic homologues
Permeate
Permeate

Gas

Permeate

Gas

Gas

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 34

17

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AMBR)

AD under Extreme Conditions
biogas

David Jeison (2005)

permeate
pressure
sensor
pump

overflow

pump

gas
flow-meter

wastewater

Fouling control: back-flushing, flow

stoppage, biogas recirculation (also
for mixing).

biogas
injection

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 35

100

40

80

30

60

20

40

10

20

0
0

100

200

300

Tim e (d)
OLR

COD Rem oval

50
40
Solids (g/L)

50

COD removal (%)

OLR (kgCOD/m3d)

Operational performance submerged AnMBR

30
20
10
0
0

100

200
Tim e (d)
TSS

300

VSS

Mesophilic conditions, VFA-fed reactor

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 36

18

Flux determining factors in anaerobic MBRs

Critical flux (L/m 2h)

25
(Jeison and van Lier, 2008)

20
R1:
therm
ophilic
Therm
ophilic
com pletely acidified
R3:
m esophilic
Mesophilic
com pletely acidified

15
10

Particle
deposition

5
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

Tim e (d)

Mesophilic

Thermophilic

Smaller
particle size

High
shear rate

The shear rate

dilemma
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 37

High Rate Anaerobic Reactor Systems

high retention of viable sludge in the reactor

sufficient contact between viable biomass and waste water

high reaction rates and absence of serious transport limitations of

substrate and metabolic end products

sufficiently adapted and/or acclimatised viable biomass

prevalence of favourable environmental conditions for all required

organisms inside the reactor under all imposed operational
conditions

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 38

19

Principles of Sludge Retention in High-Rate Reactors

Bacterial attachment on non-fixed carriers
e.g. FB (Fluidised Bed) reactors
Bacterial attachment on fixed support materials
Attached
Film

e.g. Anaerobic filters

Auto immobilisation / granulation
e.g. UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed) reactors

Sludge Bed

Sludge settling and membrane filtration

e.g. CP (Contact Process) reactors
AMBR (Anaerobic membrane bioreactors)
Separation

Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment 39

20