title: Performance evaluation and kinetic modeling of the start-up of a UASB reactor treating municipal wastewater at low temperature.
abstract: A kinetic modeling-based study was carried out to evaluate the start-up performance of a 10-L up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating municipal wastewater under different organic and hydraulic loading conditions. The reactor was operated for 105 days (around 4 months) below 20 °C and with three different hydraulic retention times of 24, 12 and 5 h. Imposed volumetric organic loading rates (OLR) ranged from 0.57 (±0.05) to 11.78 (±0.85) kg TCOD/m(3)-day. Although relatively high incoming volumetric OLR values were employed to the system, the UASB reactor demonstrated a favorable performance on the anaerobic treatability of municipal wastewater, and no process failure was recorded in the start-up stage. On the basis of experimental results, the modified Stover-Kincannon model was successfully applied to define the start-up kinetics with a very high value of the correlation coefficient (R = 0.9729). Maximum substrate utilization rate constant and saturation constant of the modified Stover-Kincannon model were determined as U (max) = 1.996 g/L-day and K (B) = 1.536 g/L-day, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, 34220 Davutpasa, Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey. aydin@yildiz.edu.tr
authors.forename: F Ilter
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Turkdogan-Aydinol
authors.forename: Kaan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yetilmezsoy
authors.forename: Sezen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Comez
authors.forename: Hurrem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bayhan
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D019149:Bioreactors; D003080:Cold Temperature; D007700:Kinetics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage