Experimental studies on combined modified upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor static granular bed reactor series in treating wastewater

Abstract

Rapid industrialization growth results in the increased generation of industrial effluents. High-strength industrial wastewater, when discharged into the environment without proper treatment, causes environmental pollution. Anaerobic treatment processes are commonly employed for the treatment of biodegradable, high-strength industrial wastewater. Treatment of industrial wastewater containing inhibitory substances and heavy metals by biological processes is challenging because of their toxicity to biomass. Among the heavy metals, copper is one of the most toxic heavy metals that affect the methanogens and acidogens in the anaerobic sludge, thus affecting its performance. The Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor is one of the high-rate anaerobic treatment processes suitable for the treatment of high-strength industrial wastewater. The UASB reactor develops a dense granular sludge bed that is capable of handling heavier organic loads. Modifications to the configuration were found to enhance the performance of the UASB reactor. In addition to substrate removal, UASB reactors are also capable of heavy metal removal. The biomass inside the UASB reactor contributes to heavy metal removal by biosorption. In general, aerobic treatment processes are adopted for the polishing of effluent from anaerobic processes. In the present study, the configuration of the Modified Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (MUASB) reactor was modified by including a modified three-phase separator and a rope matrix to enhance the performance. Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) was chosen for the polishing of the effluent from the MUASB reactor because of its advantages over the aerobic post treatment processes newline