The effect of mesophilic and thermophilic temperature on the performance of an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor

Abstract

The performance of an anaerobic reactor depends on various factors such as wastewater composition, organic loading rate (OLR), hydraulic retention time (HRT), seed sludge, temperature, and reactor configuration.In the present study, an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor was used for the treatment of synthetic wastewater. Specifically, this study was carried out in order to investigate the effect of temperature on the reactor performance when OLR was gradually increased. The reactor was operated at two different temperatures; mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (57°C). The maximum COD removal efficiency of the mesophilic operation was low compared tothe thermophilic(75.3and 81.2% respectively). The volatile acid concentration was 80 mg/L throughout the thermophilic and mesophilic experimental study. The MLVSS/MLSS ratio confirms that the utilization of biomass during the thermophilic operation was high. From the study,it was concluded that temperature plays a major role in anaerobic reactor operation,and thermophilic condition provided better reactor performance.