Enhanced Start-Up of Upflow Anaerobic Filters by Pulsation.

In this work, the effect of the pulsing flow on the start-up efficiency and hydraulics of upflow anaerobic filters (UAF) has been assessed. With this aim, a reactor operated in pulsing form (P) was compared with a conventional nonpulsed UAF reactor (NP). Although the operation of the two reactors was similar, the pulsed UAF attained a higher efficiency (92 versus 85%) at a higher organic loading rate (15 versus 11 kg chemical oxygen demand/m3 day), after a start-up period of 140 days. The hydraulic behavior, determined from residence time distribution curves, of the two reactors showed that the useful liquid volume in the pulsed reactor was 10% higher than in the NP reactor. Further, the useful volume of the pulsed UAF was higher (76%) than in reactor NP (58%), which indicates the efficiency of the pulsing device for degasification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Environmental Engineering is the property of American Society of Civil Engineers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)