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A model to describe the performance of the UASB reactor

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Abstract

A dynamic model to describe the performance of the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor was developed. It includes dispersion, advection, and reaction terms, as well as the resistances through which the substrate passes before its biotransformation. The UASB reactor is viewed as several continuous stirred tank reactors connected in series. The good agreement between experimental and simulated results shows that the model is able to predict the performance of the UASB reactor (i.e. substrate concentration, biomass concentration, granule size, and height of the sludge bed).

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Abbreviations

CSTR:

Continuous stirred tank resctor

DA :

Diffusion coefficient of substrate within the granule (m2 h−1)

E:

Inactive biomass concenration (kg m−3)

KB :

Saturation constant (kg COD m−3 h−1)

Kd :

Decay rate (h−1)

Ki :

Inhibition constant(kg m−3)

km :

Mass transfer coefficient (m h−1)

Ks :

Half saturation concentration (kg m−3)

ks :

Grau second order substrate removal rate constant (h−1)

N:

Number of CSTR

N p :

Number of granules per volume of reactor (granule m−3)

OLR:

Organic loading reate (kg COD m−3 h−1)

Pe:

Péclet number

Q:

Flow rate (m3 h−1)

q:

Flux (kg m−2 h−1)

R:

Granule radius (m)

R0 :

Initial radius of the granule (m)

Rs:

Kinetic term (kg m−3 h−1)

R:

Radial distance from the center of the granule (m)

S:

Substrate concentration (kg m−3)

S0 :

Inlet substrate concentration (kg m−3)

Se :

Effluent substrate concentration (kg m−3)

SP :

Substrate concentration within the granule (kg m−3)

Spgrad :

Gradient of the substrate (kg m−2 h−1)

t:

Time (h)

Umax :

Maximum utilization rate constant (kg COD m−3 h−1)

V:

Volume of CSTR (m3)

X:

Biomass concentration (kg m−3)

Y:

Yield [kg VSS generated (kg COD degraded)−1)]

Β:

Kinetic parameter [kg COD (kg VSS)−1)]

φP :

Volume fraction occupied by the granules

ρbiomass :

Density of the biomass (kg m−3)

μmax :

Maximum specific growth rate (h−1)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 100 44, Teknikringen 42, Stockholm, Sweden

    Raúl Rodríguez-Gómez, Luis Moreno & Longcheng Liu

  2. Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 100 44, Brinellvägen 28, Stockholm, Sweden

    Raúl Rodríguez-Gómez & Gunno Renman

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  1. Raúl Rodríguez-Gómez
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  2. Gunno Renman
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  3. Luis Moreno
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  4. Longcheng Liu
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Correspondence to Raúl Rodríguez-Gómez.

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Rodríguez-Gómez, R., Renman, G., Moreno, L. et al. A model to describe the performance of the UASB reactor. Biodegradation 25, 239–251 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-013-9656-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-013-9656-z

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