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A pilot-scale experiment of natural rubber processing wastewater treatment was conducted using a combination system consisting of a two-stage up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and a down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor for more than 10 months. The system achieved a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 95.7%±1.3% at an organic loading rate of 0.8 kgCOD/(m³.d). Bacterial activity measurement of retained sludge from the UASB showed that sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), especially hydrogen-utilizing SRB, possessed high activity compared with methane-producing bacteria (MPB). Conversely, the acetate-utilizing activity of MPB was superior to SRB in the second stage of the reactor. The two-stage UASB–DHS system can reduce power consumption by 95% and excess sludge by 98%. In addition, it is possible to prevent emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as methane, using this system. Furthermore, recovered methane from the two-stage UASB can completely cover the electricity needs for the operation of the two-stage UASB–DHS system, accounting for approximately 15% of the electricity used in the natural rubber manufacturing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) - down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) was applied to Japanese municipal sewage treatment, and its treatability, energy consumption, and sludge production were evaluated. The designed sewage load was 50 m3/d. The sewage typically had a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 402 mg/L, a suspended solids (SS) content of 167 mg/L, and a temperature of 17-29° C. The UASB and DHS exhibited theoretical hydraulic retention times of 9.7 and 2.5 h, respectively. The entire system was operated without temperature control. Operation was started with mesophilic anaerobic digested sludge for the UASB and various sponge media for the DHS. Continuous operational data suggest that although the cellulose decomposition and methanogenic process in the UASB are temperature sensitive, stable operation can be obtained by maintaining a satisfactory sludge volume index and sludge concentration. For the DHS, the cube-type medium G3-2 offers superior filling rates, biological preservation and operational execution. The SS derived from the DHS contaminated the effluent but could be removed by optional sand filtration. A comparison with conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment confirmed that this system is adequate for municipal sewage treatment, with an estimated energy requirement and excess sludge production approximately 75 and 85% less than those of CAS, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic wastewater treatment has been focused on its eco-friendly nature in terms of the improved energy conservation and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. However, the anaerobic process discharges unrecovered methane as dissolved methane. In this study, to prevent the emission of dissolved methane from up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors used to treat sewage and to recover it as useful gas, we employed a two-stage downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor as a post-treatment of the UASB reactor. The closed DHS reactor in the first stage was intended for the recovery of dissolved methane from the UASB reactor effluent; the reactor could successfully recover an average of 76.8% of the influent dissolved methane as useful gas (containing methane over 30%) with hydraulic retention time of 2 h. During the experimental period, it was possible to maintain the recovered methane concentrations greater than 30% by adjusting the air supply rate. The remaining dissolved methane after the first stage was treated by the next step. The second closed DHS reactor was operated for oxidation of the residual methane and polishing of the remaining organic carbons. The reactor had a high performance and the influent dissolved methane was mostly eliminated to approximately 0.01mgCODL-1. The dissolved methane from the UASB reactor was completely eliminated—by more than 99%—by the post-treatment after the two-stage closed DHS system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2.0 L volume of EGSB reactor was operated at 208C for more than 500 days with 0.3-0.4 g COD/L of sucrose base wastewater to investigate the influence of effluent-recirculation on the process performance. At the start up period, the reactor was operated in EGSB mode with 5 m/h upflow velocity by continuous effluent recirculation. The COD loading was set to 7.2-9.6 kg COD/m3 day with HRT of 1 hour. However, in this mode, EGSB reactor exhibited insufficient COD removal efficiency, i.e., 50-60%. Therefore, UASB mode (without recirculation, 0.7 m/h upflow velocity) was used for 30 minutes in every 40 minutes cycle to increase the COD concentration in the sludge bed. As a result, an excellent process performance was shown. The COD removal efficiency increased from 65% to 91% and the reactor could maintain a good physical property of retained sludge (sludge concentration: 33.4 g VSS/L and SVI: 25 mL/g VSS). Furthermore, retained sludge possessed sufficient level of methanogenic activity at 208C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermophilic UASB reactor was operated at 55 deg. C for greater than 470 days in order to investigate the effects of feed composition on the changes in microbial community structure where thermophilic granular sludge was used as the inoculum source. The feed compositions were changed with cultivation days; phase 1 (1-70 days), alcohol distillery wastewater; phase 2 (71-281 days), artificial acetate wastewater; phase 3 (282-474 days), artificial sucrose wastewater. During the first one month of each phase, the methanogenic activity and cell density of methanogens quantified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) drastically changed as a result of shift in feed composition. When artificial acetate wastewater was used as feed, retained granular sludge was partially disintegrated due to a decrease in the number of symbiotic bacterial community members: acetogens (acidogens) and hydrogenotrophic methanogens. In contrast, when the feed was shifted to sucrose (phase 3), granulation of biomass was promoted by a remarkable proliferation of the symbiotic community. The presence of hydrogen-utilizing methanogens and acetogens (acidogens) are shown to be effective for the enhancement of thermophilic granulation. The cell density of methanogens determined by FISH was strongly correlated with the methane-producing potential of the retained thermophilic granular sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After seeded with mesophilically-grown (35 deg. C) granular sludge, a laboratory-scale UASB reactor was thermophilically (55 deg. C) operated over 8 months by feeding with an alcohol distillery wastewater. Use of mesophilically-grown granules as a seed material proved to be more advantageous for rapid and stable start-up of thermophilic UASB process, compared with the use of suspended-growth sludge taken from a thermophilic anaerobic digester. The reactor accommodated successfully a COD loading 30 kgCOD7m-37d-1, with a COD removal efficiency of 85%. However, during a period of 30 kgCOD7m-37d-1, propionate accumulated in the effluent up to 300-600 mgCOD7l-1. Thermophilic cultivation caused a drastic increase of methanogenic activities (55 deg. C) of the retained sludge: 4.4 times for acetate, 4.6 times for propionate, and 3.5 times for hydrogen as large as those of the seed sludge. A considerably low value of propionate-fed methanogenic activity, i.e. only 1/5 of acetate-fed activity and only 1/23 of hydrogen-fed activity, suggested that the propionate degradation is subject to be a rate-limiting stepin thermophilic anaerobic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]