Summary
An anaerobic filter system with a volume of 11 l fed with wastewater from the Swiss sugar refinery in Frauenfeld was established on a laboratory scale. It provided a filter performance of over 8 kg COD·m−3·d−1 with an efficiency of at least 70%. A 600–1 pilot plant system in the factory gave a degradation efficiency of 70% when fed with 28 kg COD·m−3·d−1 and yielded 0.34 m3 methane/kg COD, demonstrating that the scaling-up of the anaerobic filter had been successful. The rapidly-varying concentrations of organic materials in the wasterwater required the constant control of the wastewater flow to the system. A control program was developed for a small computer using an empirical model simulating the operator. By varying the influx rate of the wastewater to the anaerobic filter the computer kept the system at an optimal organic load. The results obtained were equivalent to those obtained by permanent control of the system by an operator.
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DaPra, E., Schneider, K. & Bachofen, R. Computer optimization of the performance of an anaerobic filter used for purification of highly polluted wastewater from a sugar refinery. Experientia 45, 1024–1029 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01950153
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01950153