Municipal wastewater treatment and associated bioenergy generation using anaerobic granular bed baffled reactor

Tota-Maharaj, Kiran; Akunna, Joseph; Cheddie, Denver

Abstract

This study assesses a modified anaerobic granular bed baffled reactor (GRABBR) which was assessed for wastewater treatment at high organic loading rates (chemical oxygen demand > 1100 mg/l) under varying temperatures. For the two mesophilic temperatures tested (37 ˚C and 25 ˚C) under steady state conditions, the removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) was 80 to 90 %. At lower organic loadings, the reactor operated as a completely mixed system with most of the treatment occurring in the first two compartments. The GRABBR also showed very high solids retention with low effluent suspended solids concentration for all organic and hydraulic conditions. Applications of GRABBR as a single unit, two-phase treatment system could be an economical option reducing the cost to achieve similar treatment goals of high strength wastewaters. The findings of this research suggest that the application of GRABBR is suitable for treatment of multiple pollutants present in wastewater where each compartment acts as a specialised treatment stage with biogas production

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 1, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 4, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2019
• Journal: The Journal of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago
• Print ISSN: 1000-7924
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 11-19
• Keywords: wastewater treatment, bioenergy, anaerobic baffled reactor, methane
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/884534
• Publisher URL: http://www.apett.org/home/publications/journals?showall=&start=4
• Contract Date: Mar 26, 2019