TWO STAGE UASB TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER

WITH INTERNAL CIRCULATION (IC)

Andre de Vegt, Mangager of Technology
Paques, Inc.
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341
Peter Yspeert, Process Specialist
Paques B.V.
Balk, The Netherlands

INTRODUCTION
For years, UASB treatment has been an effective method for treatment of industrial
wastewater. The Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) process has now been reconfigured
into a two stage reactor system. The result of a two stage reactor configuration is an anaerobic
reactor capable of volumetric loading rates substantially greater than conventional UASB
reactors. A key to the design is the internal circulation inherent with the design, hence the reactor
is called IC (Internal Circulation).
In this paper, the design principles and functioning of the IC reactor are described.
Results .from years of full scale operation are presented.
A requirement for efficient purification of industrial wastewater is a treatment system with
high capacities. In practice this means that an industrial reactor should be able to handle both high
organic and hydraulic loading rates. The parameters determining the treatment capacity of an
anaerobic reactor can be classified in microbial and physical factors, as shown in Table I.
Microbial aspects mainly depend on physiological parameters, such as temperature, pH and
alkalinity, nutrients and inhibitory compounds. In the past, a lot of research has been conducted in
order to determine the influence of these physiological factors. Optimal values and tolerance
ranges are now well known and understood for most wastewaters. The potential activity of
methanogenic biomass appears to be much higher than the sludge loading rates (or food to mass
ratios, F/M) generally applied in full scale reactors (F/M <0.5 kgCOD/kgVS.d).
Whereas the conversion rates in aerobic systems are limited by such things as the transfer
of oxygen, anaerobic processes have no such limitations and the maximum treatment capacity is
in fact only limited by the physical aspects of the applied reactor design: 1) biomass retention
capacity and 2) biomass/wastewater contact.
Biomass Retention
The treatment capacity of the current conventional UASB systems is restricted by the
limited biomass retention ability within the reactor. For low concentrated wastewaters (COD <
2500 mg/L) the applicable volumetric loading rate (VLR) is limited to 8-10 kgCOD/m3-d so that
wash-out of biomass solids due to the high liquid upflow velocity can be avoided. At this VLR,
the corresponding hydraulic retention time (HRT) is approximately 4-5 h. As a result, relatively
large, space consuming reactors are required for treatment of low strength effluents. For higher
concentrated wastewaters (COD > 2500 mg/L), the volumetric loading rate is usually restricted
to 12-20 kgCOD/m3-d; in this case to avoid wash-out of biomass, due to turbulence caused by
elevated biogas production rates.
Table I. Factors Defining Reactor Treatment Capacity

In the UASB process, sludge retention is accomplished by a three phase separator located
at the top of the reactor, which functions to separate the sludge solids from the reactor effluent
(solid/liquid separation) as well as biogas bubbles, produced by the process, from the effluent
(gas/liquid separation). This combination of separation steps makes optimization of each function
difficult. At high loading rates, the turbulence in the settling zone may become too high due to
elevated gas production rates, resulting in wash-out of active biomass to a greater extent than can
be compensated by the sludge yield.
To allow application of higher reactor loading rates, a more efficient three phase separation
is required. As gas production is a main turbulence factor, three phase separation in two stages
would be more effective:
First stage : separation of biogas to take away turbulence,
Second stage: separation of solids to retain biomass in reactor.
Biomass/Wastewater Contact
If biomass/wastewater contact is limited, no optimal use is made of the potential biomass
activity present in the reactor. The applicable food to mass ratios (F/M) in the reactor, are less
than the theoretical achievable F/M ratios based on maximum methanogenic biomass activity.
This can be improved by better wastewater/biomass contact, by means of expansion or
fluidization of the granular sludge bed. Optimal sludge bed expansion can be accomplished in
reactors with a high height/ diameter ratio in combination with effluent recirculation. An
improved reactor design should therefore allow for high liquid and gas velocities.
THE IC TECHNOLOGY
About eight years ago PAQUES B. V., supplier of the BIOPAQ UASB system, started
research to overcome the above discussed limitations of the UASB technology. As a result, a new
anaerobic system with high treatment capacities was developed: the Internal Circulation (IC)
reactor. Basically the IC reactor consists of two UASB reactor compartments on top of each
other, one high loaded and one low loaded. Its special feature is the separation of biogas in two
stages within a tall reactor. The gas collected in the first stage drives a gas lift and an internal
circulation, which gives the reactor its name.
Table II summarizes the basic requirements for a high-rate system and design concepts as
chosen for the IC reactor.
Process Description
The IC system consists of a slender vertical reactor with a height of 15 25 m and a
relative small surface area. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the IC reactor and is referred to in the
following process description.
The influent (1) is pumped into the reactor via a distribution system, where influent,
recycled sludge and effluent are well mixed (2). The first reactor compartment contains an
expanded granular sludge bed (3), where most of the COD is converted to biogas. The biogas

produced in this compartment is collected by the lower level phase separator (4) and is used to
generate a gas lift by which water and sludge are carried upward via the "riser" pipe (5) to the
gas/liquid separator on top of the reactor (6). Here the biogas is separated from the water/sludge
mixture and leaves the system (7). The water/ sludge mixture is directed downwards to the
bottom of the reactor via the "downer" pipe (8), resulting in the internal circulation flow. The
effluent from the first compartment is post-treated in the second, low loaded compartment (9),
where remaining biodegradable COD is removed. The biogas produced in the upper
compartment is collected in the top 3-phase separator (10), while the final effluent leaves the
reactor via overflow weirs (11).
Table II. IC Reactor Design in Relation to Requirements

Special Features of the IC Reactor

Four basic process units that make up the special characteristics of the IC reactor include:
the mixing section, the expanded bed section, the polishing section, and the recirculation system.
Mixing Section
In the bottom of the reactor, incoming wastewater is effectively mixed with the sludge and
effluent from the internal circulation stream. This results in a direct dilution and conditioning of
the influent. The distribution system is based on the BIOPAQ UASB principle and insures an
even distribution into the expanded bed section by use of special hoods.
Expanded Bed Section
This section contains a highly concentrated, expanded granular sludge bed. Bed expansion/
fluidization is created by the elevated upward flow of influent, recirculation and produced biogas.

The effective contact between wastewater and biomass results in a high sludge activity, allowing
high organic loading rates and conversion rates. Comparison test showed that sludge granules
from IC reactors have about 2 times higher methanogenic activities than UASB granules. The
highly mixed active biomass in this section make the IC reactor suitable for treatment of high
strength wastewater.
Polishing Section
In this section, an effective post-treatment and biomass retention takes place due to a low
sludge loading rate, a relative long hydraulic retention time and a plug flow behavior. As a result
of the almost complete removal of biodegradable COD, in the previous expanded bed section
and the gas collection by the first separator, the turbulence produced by biogas in the polishing
section is low. Also the superficial liquid velocity in the polishing section is relatively low, since
the internal circulation flow does not pass through this reactor section. Both factors provide
optimal biomass solids retention, comparable to UASB reactor conditions, despite a high overall
reactor loading rate. Because sludge concentration in this second reactor compartment is low,
space is available for extra expansion of the expanded sludge bed. This avoids sludge loss during
high peak loads.
Recirculation System
The internal circulation is based on the gas lift principle, created by the difference in gas
hold-up between the "riser" and the "downer" (no pump is needed). Driven by the reactor gas
flow, the recirculation flow rate depends on the influent COD and is therefore self-regulating:
higher influent- COD - higher gas flow - more circulation - more influent dilution. In Figure
2, the gas flow and recirculation flow are shown as a function of the reactor influent flow, as has
been determined with a 17 m3 IC pilot plant. The recirculation flow under these circumstances is
approximately 2.5 times the gas flow. Alkalinity is formed in the reactor during COD conversion
and is recovered for influent neutralization, with the use of the recirculation system. This allows
lower influent pH's resulting in higher potential sludge activities (de Beer, 1992). Additionally
less chemicals are needed for pH correction.
COMPARISON OF HIGH RATE ANAEROBIC SYSTEMS
In order to illustrate the difference in treatment capacity between a UASB and a IC system,
a comparison is made with respect to the potential biomass retention and reactor mixing
characteristics. Based on a wastewater flow of 125 m3/h with COD 5000 mg/L (80%
biodegradable) the liquid upflow velocities and gas upflow velocities have been calculated for a
UASB and an IC reactor.
To compare the conditions in both IC reactor sections, the upflow velocities are calculated
for the bottom part and the top part of the reactor. As criteria for the reactor sizing, a loading rate
of 12 kgCOD/m3-d resulting in an HRT of 10 hours has been chosen for the UASB. Loadings
2.5 times higher are used for the IC. Recirculation for the UASB is assumed at 1:1. For the IC
system the recirculation flow is based on 2.5 times the gas production.
The different hydraulic conditions in the bottom and top section of the IC reactor can be
observed in Table 3. The bottom section is well mixed by the high liquid velocity (internal
circulation is 4.5 x influent flow) and the turbulence of the high gas velocity (reactor H/D ratio of
3.5). The presence of a two stage gas separation in the IC reactor is illustrated by the relative low
superficial velocities in the upper section.
Comparing the hydraulics of the IC with those of the UASB reactor, it can be observed that
for the assumed conditions, in the sludge bed of the IC reactor, the liquid velocity is 28 times

higher and the gas velocity 8 times higher than in the UASB reactor. The critical factor for sludge
retention (the gas velocity in the top gas separator) is not substantially higher in the IC than in the
UASB. This allows for the application of higher loading rates to the IC systems.
APPLICATION TO HIGH STRENGTH WASTEWATER
Introduction
Shortly after the pre-engineering of the IC reactor, it was decided to test the system in
practice using a large pilot plant. In the beginning of 1985, the first IC pilot reactor was erected. It
had a total volume of 17 m3 and a height of 16 m. The reactor was started up with granular
sludge from a UASB reactor and was fed with wastewater from a potato processing factory. The
main objective of this pilot plant research was to prove that high organic loading rates could be
applied, with high removal efficiencies and that the gas lift internal circulation principle was
reliable in practice. After initial optimization of the reactor design, the pilot plant performed very
satisfactorily for approximately one year. Consequently, in 1988 the first full scale IC reactor (100
nr) was erected at the same location. In the following years, the plant production and wastewater
discharge flow increased substantially and in 1992, a second IC reactor of 130 m3 was installed.

Wastewater Characteristics
The wastewater originates from a potato processing plant, where potatoes are converted to
various fresh potato products. The majority of the organic pollution is released during steampeeling and cutting of the potatoes. In Table IV, the average wastewater characteristics are given.
The presented values are measured after suspended solids removal in the pretreatment. Average
pretreated wastewater total-COD is 7,500 mg/L.
Description of the Full Scale Plant
A schematic flow diagram of the wastewater treatment system at the potato processing
factory is given in Figure 3. The raw wastewater is first passed through a static screen to remove
coarse solid material, such as potato-peels and -particles. After screening, fine heavy suspended
solids like starch particles are removed in a primary clarifier. The presettled wastewater is then
equalized in a hydraulic buffer tank of 400 m3 from where it is pumped to a mix tank for pH
correction with lime. From the mix tank, the conditioned wastewater is pumped to 2 IC reactors
with volumes of 100 m3 and 130 m3. The biogas produced is burned in a flare after passing a
small gas buffer. Surplus sludge which is produced in the IC reactors is temporary stored in a
storage tank.
Performance Data
In Table V, the average performance data of the first 100 m3 IC reactor are given over the
period July 1989 March 1990. Weekly averages of influent and effluent total-COD, Volumetric

Loading Rate, and total COD removal efficiency are shown respectively, in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
The results from the second IC reactor installed are very similar to the first one as can be
observed in Figure 7 showing total- and soluble-COD removal efficiencies by this second reactor
during the first year after its startup.
Process performance has been very stable throughout the several years of operation.
Granular sludge growth, calculated from the surplus granular sludge production over a period of
2 years, amounts to approximately 0.03 kgTS/kgCOD removed. Although during the weekend
the IC reactors are shut down, re-start on Monday is very fast by applying recirculation of biogas.

APPLICATION TO LOW STRENGTH WASTEWATER

Introduction
The development of the IC reactor for low strength wastewaters has taken place on
brewery wastewater, using a pilot reactor of 70 m3. The brewery has a capacity of about 5
million hl/yr. For over two years, various capacity-related tests have been performed with the
pilot plant, but the main goal of the test was to demonstrate the long-term performance and
sludge development characteristics in an IC reactor (de Beer, 1992). The good performance
resulted in the realization of a full-scale plant, treating a maximum flow of 11,000 m3/d, in 6 IC
reactors. The plant has been in operation since May 1990.
Wastewater Characteristics
The brewery wastewater contains residues like spent grains, trub and filter-aid, and
contamination from cleaning operations such as alkaline cleaning of returnable bottles. The
wastewater characteristics and the values used for the plant design are shown in Table VI. The
influent data are measured in the buffer/ sedimentation tank, where approximately 50% of the
suspended solids are removed. The soluble fraction of the COD is approximately 80% of the total
COD. As a result of changes in the brewery, the wastewater COD has increased over the years.
Plant Description

In Figure 8, a schematic flow diagram is shown of the complete treatment plant at the
brewery. Spent grains and other coarse solids are removed from the raw wastewater by static
screens. The separated solids are dewatered and discharged in containers. The screened
wastewater flows by gravity to a settling/buffer tank where filter aid and fine suspended solids
can settle and preacidifica- tion of the soluble COD takes place. If necessary, the pH is corrected
with either caustic or acid. The primary sludge is pumped to a stabilization/storage tank and from
time to time sludge is dewatered by a mobile belt-press and transported to a landfill. High
wastewater flow peaks can be equalized in an extra hydraulic buffer tank. Wastewater with
extreme low or high pH is stored temporary in a separate emergency tank. Six IC reactors of 160
m3 each were designed to treat the brewery effluent. The anaerobic treated effluent is discharged
to a municipal treatment plant. After removal of H2S in a caustic scrubber and drying, the biogas
is directed to the boiler at the brewery where it reduces natural gas consumption. Ventilation air is
treated in a bio filter to avoid odor emissions.

Performance Data
The six IC reactors are normally operated at a fixed influent flow of 72 m3/h per reactor. In
Figures 9, 10 and 11 the weekly averages of respectively: influent and effluent COD, the
volumetric loading rate, and the COD removal efficiencies are presented for the period July 1992
July 1993.
High COD peak loadings can be handled satisfactorily due to the self regulating internal
circulation, which supplies the necessary dilution and alkalinity. From Table VII it can be learned
that the performance of the full scale reactors turned out to be significantly better than the pilot
plant had predicted.
CONCLUSIONS

The Internal Circulation reactor described in this paper is basically a system consisting of
two UASB reactor compartments on top of each other, one ultra high loaded and one low loaded.
The IC process is based on the UASB concept of biomass granulation and the use of three phase
separators. Its special feature is the separation of biogas in two stages within a tall reactor. The
gas collected in the first stage drives a gas lift and an internal circulation.
In comparison with conventional UASB reactors, the two stage IC design can handle
significantly higher upflow velocities and gas production rates. This makes treatment of low
strength wastewaters at short hydraulic retention times, as well as treatment of high strength
wastewaters at very high volumetric loading rates more feasible.
The internal effluent circulation driven by the biogas production is self-regulating and
depends on variations in the wastewater concentration. This reduces the risk of system
overloading. Alkalinity formed in the reactor during COD conversion is used for influent
neutralization with the use of the recirculation system. This minimizes chemical addition.
Five years of full scale experience show that potato processing wastewater can be
successfully treated in an Internal Circulation reactor operating at Volumetric Loading Rates of
up to 40 kgCOD/ m3,d. Three years of full scale experience demonstrate that brewery
wastewater can be effectively treated in an Internal Circulation reactor at a Hydraulic Retention
Time of only 2.2 hours.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the companies who supplied the operational data of the IC
reactors for their kind cooperation.
REFERENCES
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