Sewage characterisation as a tool for the application of anaerobic treatment in Palestine.
Adequate knowledge on sewage characteristics is a prerequisite for selection and sizing of anaerobic treatment technologies, i.e. Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) systems. Composite sewage samples were collected from three locations in Ramallah/Al-Bireh district and analysed for several chemical and physical parameters, including samples fractionation into soluble, colloidal and suspended. The results revealed that the sewage in the study area is of very high strength. This is attributed to low water consumption, industrial discharges and people's habits resulting in a high specific COD production [gCOD per capita per day (gCOD/c.d)]. Simple model calculations revealed that the process conditions in a one stage UASB reactor should be modified to overcome the sewage high solids content and low temperature during wintertime.
Mahmoud
Nidal
N
Sub-Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. nmahmoud@birzeit.edu
Amarneh
Mohammad Naser
MN
Al-Sa'ed
Rashed
R
Zeeman
Grietje
G
Gijzen
Huub
H
Lettinga
Gatze
G
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D008877:Middle East; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
D012722:Sewage