Aerobic and Anaerobic

Reactor Configurations
 Biochemical Environment

 Aerobic Conditions: Oxygen is used as

electron acceptor
 Anoxic Conditions: Nitrate is the electron
acceptor
 Anaerobic Conditions: absence of oxygen
and nitrate and organic compounds are
converted to biomass, CO2, CH4 and H2S.
Organic matter + H2O CH4 + CO2 +
NH3 + H2S+ new cell
 Why anaerobic Treatment

 Process stability
 Produced Methane can be used to produce energy
 Produced amount of excess sludge is about 10 % of
aerobic treatment. Hence, reduction of waste disposal
cost
 Low nutrient requirement (BOD/N/P is 100/5/1 for
aerobic; 700/5/1 for anaerobic mo.s
 No air supplementation, so lower operational cost
 No off-gas air pollution
 Biodegradation of aerobic non-biodegradable
 Seasonal treatment is appropriate
 Possible disadvantages of anaerobic
Treatment

 long startup
 Alkalinity should be sufficient
 Under mesophilic conditions, optimum
temperature is 35 ºC
 Nitrification not possible
 Low kinetic rates at low temperature
 If COD < 1000 mg/L anaerobic treatment is not
practical economically
 Effluent from anaerobic treatment is generally not
acceptable for direct discharge and aerobic
polishing step is needed.
wastewater

Waste ?

Aerobic
Bioreactor
Equilization
Anaerobic
basin Bioreactor
 Anaerobic Reactor Configuratios
Anaerobic Contact Stabilization:
CSTR with cell recyle under anaerobic conditions.
 Well-mixed reactor
 suspended growth
 Before settling tank a gas separator is used to make
settling easier
Advantages:
Simple and inexpensive
Disadvantages:
System is not stable for shock loading and toxic
compounds
Settling is problem
 Anaerobic Filters
Attached growth systems
In this type of reactor, waste enters in the
bottom and flows through the rocks or plastic
media used for biomass immobilization.
Recirculation is used to dilute any toxic
compound in the influent.
The main limitations of reactor :
accumulation of solids in the packing material
(plugging). So, wastes containing high amount
of suspended solids are not suitable for A.F
channeling
cost of packing material
 Table.1. Some Studies on the treatment of industrial
wastewaters using A.F.

Type of Tempr. Organic HRT (h) Removal

wastewater (°C) Loading efficiency
Rate
(kg/m3.d)
Sugar 35-37 - 12-36 55%
industry
Distillery 35 15 72 90
wastes
Chemical 37 12-15 22-30 80-90
process
leachate 37 0.2-0.7 30-40 d 90-96
Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
(UASB)
This type of reactor was developed to avoid the main problems of
the anaerobic filter.
Flow is in upward direction.
Biomass settles in the bottom usually in the forms of granule.
Advantages:
High biomass concentrations. Hence high organic loading rates can be
applied.
so excellent COD removals due to high biomass concentrations.
Compared to Anaerobic filter, wastewaters with higher suspended solid
concentrations can be applied.
Disadvantages:
Sludge granulation is complex and not fully understood process
Biomass escape at the effluent at higher loading rates hybrit reactors are
used to avoid this problem)
 Fluidized and Expended Bed Reactors
In these systems microorganisms
gas grow on small inert particles
Effluent
such as fine sand or activated
Recirculation carbon
ORP, pH pump
probes
High Recycle ratios are used to
Water-jacketed keep the particles in suspension
glass reactor

carrier The rate of liquid flow and the

resulting degree of expansion of
the bed (10-25%) determine
whether the reactor is a fluidized
Glass
beads or an expanded (less expansion)
wastewater bed reactor

limitation: high and uniform

upflow so high pumping cost
 Table 2. Some treatability studies using UASB
Type of Influent OLR Temperat HRT (h) % COD
wastewat COD (kg/m3/d) ure C removal
er Efficienc
y
Beer 1000- 4.5-7 20-24 5 75-80
industry 1500
Agricultu 11 000 2-5 30 48 70-65
ral waste
Slaughter 2000- 4 30 19 85
hause 3500
Paper 1000 5 - 49 75
industry
Sugar 4000- 20-25 28-32 - 92-95
industry 60000
 Aerobic Treatment Systems
 Activated sludge Process (CSTR with/wo
cell recycle)
 Contact Stabilization
 Oxidation Ditch
 Sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
 Extended Aeration
 Step feed
 Contact stabilization
wastewater
mixing

Contact Basin Secondary

clarifier

Sludge waste
Stabilization Tank
Air
 Fill SBR
 No settling tank, no sludge pumping

React  Aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic cycles for

nutrient removal
 process flexibility for bulking
Settle
 Tolerant to shock loading
sludge  No washout
Draw

Idle
 Oxidation Ditch

Nitrification and denitrification is also possible

Typically operate in an extended aeration mode