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Pilot scale UASB system for municipal wastewater treatment in Venezuela

Abstract:

Recent experiments to determine the design and operational parameters of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors are presented for municipal wastewater treatment on a pilot scale, carried out in the Experimental Water Treatment Plant of the Engineering Faculty at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Cylindrical UASB reactors with capacities of 34, 84 and 126 liters, with different height-diameter relations, were fed with municipal wastewater from the "Rí Valle" sewage collector, using brewery granular sludge and municipal primary sludge under anaerobic conditions as seed. Hydraulic determination times in the range of 4 to 24 hours, upflow velocities ranging from 0,07 to 0,43 m/h and organic loads from 0,10 to 3,63 Kg COD/m 3.h were used to evaluate the reactors. The removal of organic matter in terms of BOD5, 20 and COD up to 76% were obtained, generally increasing with the upflow velocity also did so. It can be concluded that for the treatment of diluted wastewater, UASB reactors can be operated at detention times as low as 4 hours, but high-width relations must be low to obtain upflow velocities below 0,3 m/h, in order to prevent the sludge washing out.