1/40

CHAPTER – I

BACKGROUND OF UASB PROCESS

Rapid growth of industrialization all over the World resulted in pollution of water
resources. With the increased environmental awareness, and the stricter
implementation of the effluent standards being imposed by the regulatory authorities,
treatment of wastewater has become a challenging task. The major requirements of
wastewater treatment technology are acceptable effluent quality attainable within
short hydraulic retention time, low operational cost, the capability to sustain shock
loads, and simplicity of the operation and maintenance.

The biological wastewater treatment offers one of the major steps in removing the
biodegradable organic pollutants present in many industrial wastewaters. Two major
alternatives in biological treatment are aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment
processes. The aerobic mode of wastewater treatment was favoured in the past, as
this was considered to be reliable, stable and was meeting the requirements mentioned
above.

In the recent times, power costs have been increasing dramatically, there by
increasing the costs of operating an aerobic treatment system. Large amount of power
is required to operate aerobic systems for aeration and mixing. Conversely, the power
requirement for anaerobic processes is relatively low. In addition, valuable bye
product such as methane gas can be recovered in anaerobic mode of treatment. This
in certain cases can considerably reduce the cost of treatment.

The sludge production in anaerobic process is much less than that in the aerobic
processes. Aerobic process metabolizes up to 40 % of the Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD) in to sludge, whereas, in anaerobic process approximately 5 to 10 %
of BOD metabolizes to produce sludge. Due to large quantity of sludge generated in
aerobic processes, disposing of the sludge has become more difficult and expensive.
In view of these advantages offered by the anaerobic treatment processes, currently
more attention has been received to the development of anaerobic treatment process in
search of appropriate wastewater treatment technology.

The technological advances in anaerobic processes in last two decades have

significantly reduced the historical weaknesses of these processes. Previously, the
anaerobic treatment was not favoured for wastewater treatment, particularly for
medium and low strength wastewater, because of large hydraulic retention time
required. Young and McCarty's work in the year 1969 on application of anaerobic
processes for the treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater has generated
significant advancement in the last two decades. Today, the anaerobic treatment
processes have emerged as an appropriate technology for many industrial as well as
domestic wastewater treatments.

One of the most serious problems in the use of anaerobic treatment for low strength
wastes, being the retention of a sufficient quantity of viable sludge under short
hydraulic retention time (less than a day) now appears to have been overcome as a
result of the development of the high-rate anaerobic processes e.g., anaerobic filters,
 2/40

anaerobic expanded / fluidized bed reactor, and Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
(UASB) reactor. One common feature offered by all the high-rate processes is the
ability to achieve high solids retention time, even at short hydraulic retention time. In
anaerobic filters and expanded / fluidized beds, this is accomplished by the
development of biofilms on support surfaces.

In UASB reactor, high solid maintenance is accomplished by the development of

sludge granules or spherical sludge flocks that have extremely good settling
properties. In this process, existence of high concentration of sludge granules in the
sludge bed, could function as filtering medium, when wastewater is pumped in an
upflow direction through an expanded sludge bed [Frostell, 1981]. Hence, no media
is required in UASB reactor for biofilm attachment. Among the other high-rate
processes, UASB process is one of the most popular alternatives used in a wide range
of industrial as well as domestic wastewater treatment.

The idea of UASB process came into being as a modified version of the contact
process in which wastewater was applied in upward direction through a dense blanket
of anaerobic sludge (Modified Dorr Oliver Clarigester). The efforts, to develop
anaerobic treatment technology in Netherlands at the Department of Water Pollution
Control of the Agricultural University in Wageningen, resulted in the development of
a new anaerobic treatment process, now known as the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge
Blanket (UASB) process. This UASB process developed by Lettinga and his
coworkers in the seventies [Lettinga et al., 1980a,b] has received the World-wide
acceptance by the virtue of its ability to successfully treat a variety of industrial as
well as domestic wastewaters [Alerts et al., 1993].

With the growing interest in application of this process for different wastewater,
considerable research was conducted in recent past to prove feasibility of this process
for the wastewater treatment for domestic and industrial origin such as, beet sugar
mills, cane sugar mills, breweries, distillery, dairy, food processing, paper mills, etc.
 3/40

CHAPTER – II

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The schematic diagram of a typical UASB reactor is shown in Figure. UASB reactor
has three major components viz. (1) sludge bed, (2) sludge blanket, and (3) three
phase separator consist of Gas-Solids Separator (GSS) and settling compartment. The
sludge bed is the layer of biomass settled at the bottom of the reactor. In this zone,
the organic compounds in the influent are converted to end products, such as biogas
and cellular biomass, as flow passes upward through a highly active biomass. Bulk of
stabilization occurs in this zone. Very high sludge concentration is maintained in this
zone, of the order of 60 to 100 g SS/L. On the top of sludge bed there exists a zone
called as sludge blanket zone. The sludge blanket is a suspension of sludge particles
(at lower concentration 2 to 5 g SS/L) mixed with gases produced in the process.
Degradation of residual organic matter from sludge bed takes place in the sludge
blanket zone. Mixing in this system is caused by the evolved biogas.

Gas is separated from the liquid by the Gas-Solid-Separator (GSS) device provided at
the top of the reactor. The inverted cone acts as gas-solids separator, where the
sludge is separated and the gas is released to the gas collector. The sloping bottom
provided below the inverted cone allows the gas to pass only through the gas solids
separator. Thus, a quiescent zone called the settler is maintained in the space outside
the inverted cone and inside the outer walls of the reactor. This zone allows the
separation of solids from liquid phase. Most of the sludge particles that have entered
the settler compartment can settle back to the reactor, while the rest are washed out
via the effluent. Thus, longer solids retention time is maintained in the reactor. This
inbuilt arrangement in the UASB reactor has the following advantages:
 4/40

♦ Sloping bottom of the settler serves as gas separator.

♦ No additional space is required for settling. The process can be carried out in
the reactor plus settler forming one composite compact unit.
♦ The sludge separated in the settler can flow back directly in to the reactor
without mechanical means, such as pump or scrapers, and
♦ The sludge is not exposed to alien environment as it remains within the
system.

Due to slow growing characteristics of anaerobic bacteria, the washing out of sludge
from the reactor effluent may result in decrease in amount of sludge inside the reactor
and hence, deterioration of efficiency. To prevent this quantity of washout sludge
must be lesser than the sludge growth. This can be achieved by providing the media
in settling compartment taking in to consideration the settling properties of the sludge.

To have better retention of the sludge inside the UASB reactor several modifications
of the conventional UASB process have been incorporated. Improvement in sludge
retention was observed by providing packing (support) material in the settler
compartment in the UASB reactor. This process is named as combined UASB-
Anaerobic filter process [Fiebig and Dellweg, 1985]. This arrangement is reported to
have enhancing effect on granulation of the sludge. Providing the media layer at the
top of sludge bed was also tried successfully [Lo et al., 1994]. Modification such as
compartmentalized UASB reactor called as upflow staged sludge bed had also been
tried successfully. The advantages offered by this arrangement are uniform effluent
quality because of plug flow nature and also very less volatile fatty acids
concentration in the effluent [vanLier et al., 1994].

ADVANTAGES - DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES OF UASB REACTOR

• Low investment cost.
• Low land Requirements.
• Low energy costs, just transport of the influent to the plant.
• Production of valuable by product :- Biogas.
• Very high loading rate can be applied, including for low strength domestic
wastewater.
• Short retention time.
• Preservation of anaerobic sludge in the reactor for many months without loosing
much of its activity is possible.
• No need of support medium as required in other high rate anaerobic process.
• Low production of stabilized excess sludge, which can be easily dewatered.
• Acceptable effluent quality with high COD removal efficiency (15 to 90%).
• Simple reactor construction.
• Nutrient requirement is low.
• Process is totally enclosed and all the exhaust gas is either burned in gas utility or
an automatically controlled flare stack, hence the system is completely
environment friendly.
• Very low sludge production.
• Automatic biological overload control facility.
 5/40

DISADVANTAGES OF UASB REACTOR.

• Granulation process is difficult to control and it depends upon wastewater

properties.
• Process is rather sensitive for specific toxic compounds and inhibitors (e.g. for
compound such as CN - CHCl3 etc.).
• The removal of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, helminthes etc. is poor and
post treatment is required before the effluent can be discharged into receiving
water or reused for irrigation of edible crops.
• As organic load increases a proper monitoring of the process will have to be done
especially to maintain required alkalinity to counter excessive acid production.
• First startup of the process requires a period of several weeks.

GRANULATION OF BIOMASS
A highly settleable and active sludge is generally considered to be essential for the
UASB process in maintaining requisite solid retention time [Cail and Barford, 1985].
In most of the UASB reactors such kind of biomass is observed in the granular form
[Hulshoff et al., 1983a, Mahoney et al., 1987]. This methanogenic granular sludge
developed in UASB reactor can be described as a spherical biofilm consisting of a
densely packed anaerobic microbial consortium [Quarmby and Forster, 1995].
Granular sludge can be developed using non-granular inoculum materials at
mesophilic, thermophilic as well as ambient temperature conditions for a number of
wastewaters.

Granulation of sludge is an indication of the successful operation of the UASB

reactor. It has been the point of investigation in the last two decades, and extensive
studies have been done by various researchers. Bacteria get attached to the heavy
sludge ingredients and growth will increasingly be concentrated at these particles,
ultimately resulting in the formation of distinct granules, which has a better settling
property than flocculent sludge [Hulshoff et al., 1983a].

Although, considerable efforts have been made on the study of the granulation
process, the mechanisms involved in the formation of granular sludge are still not
fully known, and the process has not been quantified. In some cases, other forms of
sludge rather than granular sludge are obtained in the UASB reactor [Hulshoff et al.,
1983a, Hickey et al., 1991a,b, Hamoda and Berg, 1884]. Such sludges still show
good settleability and high methanogenic activity. Thus, even when granulation is not
occurring, it may still be able to achieve good results at lower loading up to 5 kg
COD/ m3.d [Habets and Knelissen, 1985a, Maat and Habets, 1987]. From this point
of view, it is not absolutely necessary to have a granular sludge configuration in
UASB reactors, but when the sludge is in granular form organic loading more than 20
kg COD/ m3.d are possible [Habets and Knelissen, 1985b, Jhung and Choi, 1995].

The granular form of sludge in UASB reactor has several engineering advantages.
Microorganisms are usually densely packed and no space is lost for inert supports
thus spherical granules provide maximum microorganisms to space ratio [Guiot et al.,
1992a]. Granules show excellent settling properties due to higher buoyant densities
and because of their large sizes (Stoke's law). This property is particularly important
 6/40

while dealing with low strength wastewater where adequate biomass retention can be
possible even at higher upflow velocity. Due to higher specific activity of granular
sludge, higher organic loading (> 30 kg COD/ m3.d) could be possible [Maat and
Habets, 1987]. Granular sludge also improves the ability of the reactor to sustain
shocks induced by temperature, loading and inhibition [Morgan et al., 1991a]. Due to
its good settling ability and high specific activity, granular sludge fulfills the essential
requirement of any high rate system by retaining a high concentration of active
biomass in the reactor [Defour et al., 1994]. Typical values for the biomass
concentrations (dry weight) that can be achieved with granular sludge range from 40
to 150 g/L [Morgan et al., 1991b]. Also, it is reported that, the granular sludge
produce less biomass per gram COD removed than the diffused sludge [Dangcong et
al., 1994].

Shut down periods of several days to many months do not harm the system, if
granular sludge is present. The subsequent start-up reactivates the biomass within
few hours, even if the granules have been frozen during reactor shutdowns in the
winter [Maat and Habets, 1987, Ramjeawon et al., 1995].

Methanogens in granular sludge have higher tolerance to oxygen even if exposed to

the wastewater with high dissolved oxygen levels [Kato et al., 1993]. The reasons
could be the presence of facultative bacteria metabolizing biodegradable substrates
and secondly, granules are large excess of the diameter than that of the oxygen
penetration depth (100 3m) to maintain anaerobic zones.

HYPOTHESIS FOR GRANULATION IN UASB REACTOR

Very little information is available on granulation mechanism in UASB reactor. A
few researchers have given the hypothesis for granule formation in UASB reactor.
Lettinga et al., [1980a] have reported that in the first stage of the granulation process
(in about 10 days) filamentous bacteria, which are almost absent in the original seed
sludge, grew on the external surface of a separate sludge floc, but beyond 50 days
increasing number of Methanosarcina were observed, which binds the different
species into granular form.

Hulshoff Pol et al., [1982,83c] indicated that when digested sewage sludge was used
as inoculum; and fatty acid mixture was used for feed (acetate plus propionate), three
different phases could be distinguished during the granulation process. Each phase
was characterized by different sludge concentration profiles in the reactors and
differences in the nature of the sludge itself. In phase-I, the sludge bed expanded and
sludge concentration in sludge blanket increased. During the Phase-II, the sludge
concentration in the blanket continued to increase and wash out of the inoculated
sludge began, consequently the total amount of the sludge in the reactor dropped to a
minimum level. At the same time, granules began to form in the sludge bed and
gradually grow. In Phase-III, the growth of granules exceeds the sludge wash-out rate
and the total biomass in the reactor again increased. The higher COD loading rates
tended to enhance the process of granulation and, therefore, emphasized that a
relatively high specific COD loading rate (>0.3 to 0.5 kg COD/kg VSS-d) should be
applied as soon as possible to accelerate granule formation.
 7/40

Samsoon et al., [1987] proposed an hypothesis to describe pellet or granule formation.

According to them the sludge bed can be divided into three parts. A lower active
zone, is the bottom most zone in which concentration of short chain fatty acids
increased to maximum because of acidification. Hydrogen is generated in this zone at
such a rate that high hydrogen partial pressure is created. In the second zone, called
upper active zone, the partial hydrogen pressure is reduced to minimum by the action
of hydrogenotrophs. In the third zone, called upper inactive zone, no observable
biological activity takes place. The granulation takes place mainly in the lower active
zone and granule breakup in the higher zones [Wentzel et al., 1994].

Thus, the reactor operation is such that there is partial phase separation of acidogenic
and methanogenic phase in the lower active zone. Therefore, high Hydrogen pressure
is created in this zone because of acidification. Under such high Hydrogen partial
pressure region a methanogens presumably Methanobacterium strain which uses
hydrogen only as its energy source, can produce all its amino acids for cell synthesis
except cysteine. Amino acids (except cysteine) are produced at higher rate but the
growth is limited by availability of cysteine. The excess production of aminoacids
induces the organisms to form extra cellular long chain polypeptides, which bind the
species and others into granules. Hence, for granulation, the substrate must yield H2
and opportunity should be there for high H2 partial pressure build up in bottom zone.

Russo and Dold [1989] identified that requirement of a high H2 partial pressure region
to induce granule formation was very significant in the treatment of wastes from pulp
and paper industry with very high sulphate concentration. Since, sulphate reducing
organisms have a high affinity for hydrogen than the methanogens, the generated
hydrogen was utilized in reduction of sulphate ion to sulphide, and reduction in the H2
partial pressure took place. Hence, the granulation might have been inhibited due to
non availability of high H2 partial pressure zone, due to presence of high sulphate
concentration in the wastewater.

Morgan et al., [1991b] gave suggestion for possible granulation in UASB reactor.
According to them precursors of granules are bundles of entangled Methanothrix
filaments that are selected during reactor start-up. Initially, granules develop from a
precursor, which consists of a small aggregate of Methanothrix and other
microorganisms. With time, the Methanothrix filaments grow, forming characteristic
bundles separated by the surrounding matrix in which other methanogenic and non-
methanogenic bacteria are embedded. As the bundles increase in size the surrounding
matrix becomes excluded, producing a region towards the center of the granule, which
consists exclusively of compact filaments of Methanothrix. Within this region, the
discrete bundles can no longer be seen. These observations were made on well
formed anaerobic granular sludge from paper mill effluent and sugar refinery waste
treatment by using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy of thin section.

Carefully analyzing the effects of factors on sludge on sludge granulation and on

bacterial adhesion in UASB reactor, a conclusion can be drawn that the upflow
hydraulic stress including the shear stress and the wastewater composition (i.e. the
substrate) are the most important factors in microbial granulation. The hydraulic stress
is a physical effect that selects for biomass with a high settling velocity under pre-
determined physical conditions rather than biological controlling factors [Tay et. al.,
 8/40

2000]. The composition of wastewater is directly related to the success of sludge

granulation, therefore it is probably very important stimulative factor.

CHARACTERISTICS OF UASB GRANULES

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Form of Granular Sludge

Granules are formed by the activities of various groups of microorganisms.
Depending on size, shape, and composition various types of granular sludge can be
distinguished as follows :
I. More or less spherical granules up to 1 to 5 mm in size. These granules may
vary in colour from pale yellow to black, depending on the waste on which
they were grown [Kosaric et al., 1990b]. The VSS content of these granules
may be up to 95 % of the total suspended solids. Based on the microscopic
examination three very different types of spherical granules can be
distinguished as under :

Filamentous Granules: This granule mainly consists of long multicellular

filaments of rod-shaped organisms, presumably Methanothrix sohngenii, and
contains some kind of inert support originating from digested sewage sludge.
The diameter of the granules ranges from 1 to 5 mm. These granules are
observed on pure VFA substrates and are mechanically rather fragile, though
fairly moldable [Hulshoff et al., 1983c, Russo and Dold, 1989, Lettinga et al.,
1983c].

Rod-type Granules: These granules mainly consists of smaller and denser

fragments of Methanothrix. These rod-type granules are observed on
sugarbeet wastewater, potato processing waste and under specific conditions
also on VFA-substrates [Hulshoff et al., 1983c]. These granules are
mechanically more robust than the filamentous granules and are fairly
moldable.
Sarcina Granules: These granules are normally not found in UASB reactors.
However, under certain conditions they may develop i.e., with a VFA-mixture
as substrate at a low pH (6.0), under high acetate concentration in the feed,
under constant overloading of the reactor, and also when ethanol is used as
substrate [Grotenhuis et al., 1991a, Weigant et al., 1986a,b] or in pure cultures
in laboratory reactors [Hulshoff et al., 1983c, Dolfing and Mulder, 1985]. The
predominant organisms in these granules are Methanosarcina. This kind of
sludge granules are small in size and are loosely packed.

II. Rigid spiked-rod shaped granules which are very uniform in shape and size
and contains up to 60 % CaCO3. These granules are approximately one mm in
length and less than 0.3 mm thick [Lettinga et al., 1983c].

Thus, depending on the substrate on which granules are developed, different kinds of
sludge granules have been reported. The importance of physical operating parameters
on the size of the granules is not being addressed so far.

Surface Morphology
Most of the granules reported to have a compact surface with a few cavities, possibly
for the release of biogas produced or to facilitate substrate diffusion [Kosaric et al.,
 9/40

1990b]. Heterogenous population of bacteria is generally appear on the surface, this

includes various types of rods, cocci and filaments similar to Methanothrix [Quarmby
and Forster, 1995]. The external surface of the granules is normally exposed to the
complex substrate and with some degree of acidification. Hence, external surface
shoes the presence of acidogens in large number than methanogens.

Settleability
Granular sludge exhibits very good settleability. Buoyant densities of the granules
have been estimated to be 1.00 - 1.05 g/cm3 [Dolfing et al., 1985, Lens et. al. 1998].
The density of granules depends upon starting inoculum material, feed composition,
and operational conditions (i.e. pH, COD loading rate, VFA concentration) in the
reactor. This buoyant density of granules is equal to the densities for dispersed
bacterial cells, which shows that the excellent settling properties of the granules are
mainly due to aggregation of the microorganisms [Dolfing et al., 1985]. The
settleability varies widely depending upon the size and shape of the granules. Settling
velocity of UASB sludge varies in the range of 2 - 90 m/h [Lettinga et al., 1983c], and
for good granular sludge, settling velocity is in the range of 18 to 100 m/h [Dolfing
and Mulder, 1985, Maaskant et al., 1983, Thaveersri et al., 1994, Park et. al. 1997,
Lens et. al., 1998]. It was reported that, granular sludge cultivated on wastewater
with hydrolyzed substrate settles less well than sludge cultivated on wastewaters with
carbohydrates [Fang et al., 1994b].

In terms of sludge volume index (SVI) values, granular sludge SVI is about 10 to 20
mL/g [Maat and Habets, 1987, Yan and Tay, 1997], where as flocculent sludge SVI
range from 20 to 40 mL/g [Lettinga et al., 1980a]. The SVI of 5 mL/g for granular
sludge has also been reported [Ciftci and Ozturk, 1993].

The VSS/SS ratio as high as 0.84 can be obtained in UASB reactor sludge [Yan and
Tay, 1997]. In general, VSS/SS ratio for granular sludge was reported to be between
0.6 and 0.85 [Lin and Yang, 1991, Lens et. al., 1998, Lin and Chui, 1999]. VSS to SS
ratio as low as 0.21 was reported for UASB sludge treating leachate due to
precipitation of inorganic materials [Kuttunen and Rintala, 1998].

It is reported that there exists relationship between the strength of granules, COD
removal efficiency, and applied loading rate during start-up [Ghangrekar et. al.,
1996]. For higher strength of granules higher COD reduction was reported. Similar
observation was reported by Pereboom [1997] stating that the strength of
methanogenic granules is positively correlated with mean cell residence time.
Loading rates applied during formation of granules are mainly responsible for
strength of the granules.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
The chemical composition of granular sludge is comparable to that of bacteria in
general. Protein, total carbohydrates, total organic carbon, kjeldhal nitrogen and ash
content comprise about 35 to 60 %, 6 - 7 %, 41 - 47 %, 10 - 15 % and 10 - 23 % of the
total dry weight, respectively [Lin and Yang, 1991]. Granules from reactors treating
industrial wastewaters generally have higher ash content than those from synthetic
wastes. the higher ash contents are due principally to the presence of higher
concentrations of calcium and/ or iron salts and other inert suspended solids in the
feed. About 30 % of the ash fraction consists of FeS, which may cause the black
 10/40

color of the granules and smell of H2S [Dolfing et al., 1985]. The other metals
contributing the ash content are calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus,
and non metals in the form of clay [Bhatti et al., 1995].

Sludge granules were also found to contain P and Si [Wu et al., 1987]. In addition, 1
- 2 % of the extracellular polysaccharide fraction of the consortia compares well with
data reported for aerobic activated sludge, but a great amount of inorganic,
mineralized, or crystallized material is observed in anaerobic sludge [Vuoriranta et
al., 1985]. In general granular sludge has VSS/SS ratio ranging from 0.60 to 0.85,
and that the wet cake of the sludge after centrifugation had a moisture content of
about 90% [Lin and Yang, 1991].

METABOLIC ACTIVITY
The aggregation of anaerobic microorganisms into granules optimizes the cooperation
between the partner organisms, by reducing the diffusion distance for the transfer of
metabolites and creating the close cell associations, which are obligatory for the
degradation of propionate and butyrate. This is thermodynamically controlled by the
H2 partial pressure and could not occur unless the H2 produced is scavenged by H2
consuming organisms [Dwyer et al., 1988]. Thus, aggregation of bacteria of different
metabolic groups is of pivotal importance for the energetics and kinetics of the overall
substrate conversion in anaerobic digestion and hence, for higher metabolic activity.

Metabolic activity of granules can be expressed in terms of specific methanogenic

activity, specific COD removal rates, or specific substrate conversion rates. Granular
sludges have higher volumetric activities than flocculent type sludges since; they are
denser in structure and contain more biomass on a volumetric basis. Higher
methanogenic activity is one of the important characteristics of the granular sludge.
On a sludge cultivated with glucose at 35oC and another cultivated with brewery
wastewater, activity of 1.2 and 1.9 kg COD/ kg VSS.d respectively, was reported [Lin
and Yang, 1991]. Using VFA as feed, activity at mesophilic temperature as 2.2 to 4.0
kg COD/ kg VSS.d [Hulshoff et al., 1983b], and at thermophilic temperature as 4.2 to
7.3 kg COD/ kg VSS.d has been reported [Wiegant et al., 1986a, Hickey et al.,
1991a]. In terms of specific methanogenic activity, using sucrose as feed substrate,
activity as 1.7 g CH4-COD/ g VSS.d has been reported [Fang and Chui, 1993].

Microbial composition:

Direct count of cells using microscopy indicate that granular sludges contain between
1 x 1012 and 4 % 1012 cells per gram of VSS. Granular sludges, developed either on
complex substrates, or VFA mixtures, have been observed to contain essentially the
same microbial tropic groups typically found in anaerobic digesters (i.e. hydrolytic
fermentative, syntrophic acetogenic, methanogenic and sulphate reducing bacteria).
For the granules developed on hydrolyzed proteins Fang et al., [1994b] have reported
that, each gram of the granule biomass the populations of bacteria capable of using
H2/CO2, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and hydrolyzed proteins, individually, as a sole
substrate were 3.4 % 107, 1.3 % 108, 3.4 % 107, 6.1 % 107, 1.3 % 108, respectively.
There is great diversity of hydrogen-utilizing methanogens in the mesophilic granules
than in those grown under thermophilic conditions [Visser et al., 1991]. Methanogens
 11/40

particularly acetate utilizers, are found to be a major microbial group [Hickey et al.,
1991a]. Methanothrix and Methanosarcina are the main groups of methanogens,
which favors granulation. Methanothrix are found to be almost universal feature of
granules, and strong population of this methanogens may be an essential feature of a
well formed granule [Morgan et al., 1991a, Fang et al., 1994b]. This sludge is
characterized by small rod-shaped fluorescent bacteria sludge and the structure of the
granule is very dense [Dolfing and Mulder, 1985].

TOLERANCE TO OXYGEN
Methanogens located in granular sludge have a high tolerance for oxygen. The most
important factor contributing to the tolerance is the oxygen consumption by
facultative bacteria metabolizing biodegradable substrates. Uptake of oxygen by
these bacteria creates anaerobic microenvironments where the methanogenic bacteria
are protected. However, the methanogens particularly Methanothrix in sludge
consortia still have some tolerance to oxygen, even in the absence of facultative
substrate for oxygen respiration. The other reason could be that the most of the
granules are large excess of the diameter than that of the oxygen penetration depth
(100µm) to maintain anaerobic zones [Kato et al., 1993].

LOSS OF ACTIVITY DUE TO LACK OF FEEDING

UASB reactors are able to maintain sludge viability without feeding [Souza, 1986].
The granular form of sludge could be observed even after being stored for one year at
15 to 28oC under anaerobic conditions [Lin and Yang, 1991, Maat and Habets, 1987].
The methanogenic activity easily could be reestablished after a reactor shut off for
some months [Ciftci and Ozturk, 1993]. In the experiment to study acetic acid
utilization activity after no-feed conditions at 55oC, it was observed that 30 % of the
sludge activity was lost within one week, and the decrease continued afterwards. On
the other hand in 30oC environment no loss of activity was reported [Ohtsuki et al.,
1992]. Wiegant et al. (1983), reported that the methanogenic activity of thermophilic
granular sludge (55oC) was reduced to 50% after storage at 30oC for 50 days. This
states that the thermophilic granule looses its activity much faster than mesophilic
granules even for storage under mesophilic conditions. Thus, the loss of activity is
less for storing at mesophilic or psycrophilic temperature than the thermophilic
temperature.

In separate experiment Wu et al., [1995], have reported that during storage at 22oC
the degradation rate for all the three acids viz., acetate, propionate and butyrate
decreased gradually. At low temperature (4oC), reduction in degradation rates of
acetate and propionate was relatively slower than that at 22oC. Reduction in butyrate
degradation rate was faster during the first month of storage at 4oC, but the rate
declined afterwards. Nevertheless, the granules maintained, their metabolic activities
for all three VFAs even after storage of 18 months at reduced level. For relatively
short period one to five months, granules can be stored at ambient temperature with
limited loss in their VFA degradation rates. However, higher VFA degradation rates
can be maintained for storage at 4oC. Also, the granules can be retained even for the
storage as long as three years.
 12/40

Poorly granulated sludge looses its activity faster than properly granulated sludge.
UASB reactor granule sludge can be stored at 4 OC without loosing mush of its
activity up to nine months. Even the granular sludge store for more than this duration
can be preferred as inoculum, because its activity is more than the digested sewage
sludge up to about one and half year of cold storage. Poorly granulated sludge stored
at 4 OC for less than six months can be used for reactor start-up. The activity of the
nongranular sludge stored beyond this duration is comparable with activity of
digested sewage sludge [Ghangrekar, 1997]. UASB reactor granular sludge can even
be stored at ambient temperatures for few months, without loosing much of its
activity.

INTERNAL ARCHITECTURE OF UASB GRANULES

The anaerobic granules found in UASB reactors are highly structured consortium.
Two types of granule structure have been reported so far by various investigators,
viz., layered structure and non-layered structure. This difference in the structure of
granules was mainly attributed to the substrate on which the granules were developed.

Layered Structure

In sucrose fed wastewater [Guiot et al., 1992a, Fang et al., 1994b] three-layered
structure of the granules was reported. Each layer of granule was reported to have
different distinguishing bacterial morphotypes. Briefly, the central layer i.e., the
granule core, consisted of cavities encased by rod shaped bacteria which possessed
flat ends. These bacteria were predominantly Methanothrix species. The middle
layer consists of large number of cocci and rod shaped bacteria. With transmission
electron microscopy it was observed that these rods included numerous very
electrondence organisms which resemble a Methanobrevibacter species, and which
were juxtapositioned to syntrophobacter like organisms. This arrangement was
particularly predominant in the middle layer of the granule. The external layer
contained a variety of organisms, including acidogen morphotypes, Methanococcales
like organisms, chain forming cocci, large long rods, smaller coccoid organisms, and
Methanospirillum like filaments. Similar stratified appearance of the granules was
also observed by MacLeod et al, [1990] for sucrose fed granules, for VFA fed
granules [Kosaric et al., 1990a], and for sugar wastewater fed granules [Guiot et al.,
1992c].

The substrate fed to the reactor moves from the bulk liquid to the granule surface by
mass transport, and then diffuses in to the granule, where it is transformed in to
propionate, acetate, and hydrogen. In response to gradients H2, propionate, and
acetate are transported back to the bulk liquid and diffuse decreasingly to the granule
center. This selects for specific active zones, schematically as acidogens, in the bulk
liquid and in the outer layer, low affinity high-rate H2 consumers in the surface and
high affinity low rate H2 consumers in the mid space, low affinity acetoclastic in the
periphery and high affinity acetoclasts in the mid space. The proposed structure of
the granule population arrangement, related to a substrate and product diffusion model
for layered granules is shown in Figure 2.1 [Guiot et al., 1992a and Fang et al.,
1994b].
 13/40

The pH profile inside the granule was studied by Vanderhaegen et al. [1992] for
glucose degrading granules. Their study also showed the stratified arrangement inside
the granule. The pH of outer layer of the granule was observed to be 1.0 to 1.5 units
lower than that of the outer medium. The pH at the center of the granule was 0.5 to
0.1 unit lower than outside medium. The pH profile shows that fermentative bacteria
are present at the outside, and possibly also at the inside of the granules with less
amount. The pH at the center was slightly higher than that of outer layer, this shows
active acetate use at the center which can be attributed to the predominance of
Methanothrix.

Three-layered structure of the granules was also reported by Quarmby and Forster
[1995] for potato, liquorice, cannery, and molasses wastewater treatment. The outer
layer mainly consist of gram positive bacteria was observed. In the middle layer
increased number of gram negative bacteria was observed. Predominance of this
gram negative bacteria was observed at the center. The amount of carbohydrate was
observed to be decreasing towards center of the granules with extremely small amount
of carbohydrate in the center. In another study for determining the bacterial
population in the different layers of the granules treating sucrose as substrate,
spirochetes and Methanosarcina were found only near the surface [Fang et al.,
1994a], while Methanothrix were the predominant bacteria in the interior.

Non Layer Structure

Non layer homogeneous structure of granules has also been observed for the granules
degrading some wastewaters. In the study with paper mill wastewater and sugar
refinery wastewater [Morgan et al., 1991a] the granules developed reported to have
randomly oriented filaments of Methanothrix, which was tightly packed with little
space between individual filament sheaths, revealing a 'honeycomb' appearance.
Towards the center the degree of compaction was observed to be increased. The non
layer structure of the granules was also reported by Quarmby and Forster [1995] for
paper mill and wheat-starch wastewater. In laboratory scale UASB reactor treating
propionate rich wastewater, the granules developed reported to have non layered
structure [Fang et al., 1995]. These granules were composed of microcolonies of
Methanothrix and several other microcolonies with juxtapositioned syntrophic
associations between the H2-producing acetogens and H2-consuming methanogens.
Juxtapositioned syntrophic associations between these bacteria makes the rapid
removal of hydrogen, which would otherwise hinder the propionate degradation, as
elucidated from thermodynamic analysis. Similar granule structure was reported for
the granules treating hydrolyzed proteins in UASB reactor [Fang et al., 1994a]. In
this case, spirochetes, Methanosarcina and Methanothrix were distributed throughout
the granule. Spirochetes were probably responsible for the degradation of amino
acids and fatty acids, whereas Methanosarcina converts H2/CO2, methanol,
methylamine, and acetate to methane and Methanothrix converts acetate only at low
concentration.

The non layered structure of granules was also reported by Grotenhuis et al. [1991a]
for UASB granules treating propionate, ethanol, and sugar refinery wastewaters. The
glutamate degrading granules also showed the non layered structure [Fang et al.,
 14/40

1994b]. The network of Methanothrix with packets of non-methanogenic bacilli

throughout the granules was observed in this case.

Role of Methanothrix and Syntrophic Microcolonies in Granules

Based on SEM and TEM studies different researchers have reported that
Methanothrix is a key structural element in all the granules observed. In three layered
structure of granules, Methanothrix are observed in predominance at the center, and
the different anaerobic microorganisms essential for anaerobic digestion are situated
at the outer layers. For non-layered structure of the granules, Methanothrix network
throughout the granule was reported.

Propionate and butyrate are among the major intermediates in the anaerobic
degradation. The ultimate degradation of propionate and butyrate involves three
different groups of bacteria, i.e., syntrophic acetogens, hydrogen-consuming
methanogens, and acetate-consuming methanogens. However, the degradation of
propionate and butyrate are thermodynamically unfavorable, unless the concentrations
of the two metabolites, hydrogen and acetate, are being kept at very low levels. The
syntrophic acetogens thus, have to grow in the vicinity of the hydrogen-consuming
and acetate-consuming methanogens. Such a syntrophic relationship could be
enhanced if the syntrophic bacteria are in juxtaposition so that the diffusion distance
for the metabolites is minimized. Observations of similar syntrophic microcolonies
were reported by number of investigators [MacLeod et al., 1990, Grotenhuis et al.,
1991a, Fang et al., 1994a, 1994b, 1995].

Clearly, the aggregation of anaerobic microorganisms in to granules either layered or

non layered structure optimizes the cooperation between the partner organisms, by
reducing the diffusion distance for the transfer of metabolites and creating the close
cell associations which are obligatory for the degradation of propionate and butyrate
[Thiele et al., 1990]. Aggregation of bacteria possessing different metabolic pathways
is of pivotal importance, for the energetics and kinetics of the overall substrate
conversion, in granulation.

Thus, the structure of the granule is mainly assumed to be influenced by the substrate
on which the granules are developed. The layered structure seems to be limited to
granules treating soluble carbohydrates as substrate, such as those in the sucrose,
glucose, and brewery wastewaters. In case of paper mill wastewater, glutamate
degrading granules, propionate degrading granule, and hydrolyzed protein treatment
non layered structure was reported. Although, bacteriological composition, and thus,
the microstructure of a granule was reported to be dependent on the substrate, this
statement is oversimplified and there are other factors such as operating conditions
and hydrodynamics inside the reactor which may have some effect on the structure of
the granules. Further research is needed in this direction to arrive at any rigid
conclusion.

The loading rates applied during formation of granules mainly responsible for the
strength of granules. For getting good strength of the granules developed, it is
advisable to start the reactor in the loading range SLR=0.15-0.24kgCOD/kgVSS.d.
and OLR=2-3.6kgCOD/m3.d. also for the higher strength of granules developed,
higher COD removal efficiency can be obtained [Ghangrekar, 1997].
 15/40

CHAPTER – II

START-UP
DEFINITION OF START-UP
Start-up of anaerobic reactors can be divided into two different categories, (1)
Primary start-up and (2) Secondary start-up. In case of primary start-up the inoculum
seed is not adapted to the waste. It has to undergo a selection, which radically alters
the species distribution of the microbial population. The secondary start-up is most
favorable in which the inoculum seed is already adopted to the substrate and the
biomass only needs to grow in order to cope with the organic overload.

Start-up can be defined as the period of transient operation beginning when the
process is started and lasting until full load steady state conditions are reached. The
steady state conditions mentioned is a pseudo-steady state condition. High loading
rates can only be achieved if high concentrations of active biomass are maintained
within the reactor i.e., high microbial growth rates and good sludge settleability are
the main conditions to achieve a successful start-up [Brunetti et al., 1983]. Thus,
proper start-up methods are necessary to develop granular sludge with higher settling
velocity, hence to maintain higher Solid Retention Time (SRT), and to develop
sludges with maximum methanogenic activity to have maximum substrate conversion
rate.

Different researchers have defined the start-up based on the parameters such as,
methanogenic activity [Zeeuw et al., 1983, Lettinga et al., 1993b]; based on steady
state achieved in effluent COD concentration and gas production [Gnanadipathy et
al., 1993, Fang and Chui, 1993]; and based on volumetric COD removal rate
[Lettinga and Hulshoff, 1991]. Basically in all the cases the duration of start-up was a
time needed to achieve steady state performance for the reactor.

In UASB reactor in the start-up phase of operation the aim is to develop good quality
granular sludge so as to meet the advantages mentioned earlier; and to achieve
maximum COD reduction efficiency at high loading conditions. Thus, granulation of
biomass and high COD reduction efficiency is an indication of successful start-up of
the process. It has been the point of investigation in the last decade, and extensive
studies have been done in this direction. Shortening of the start-up time along with
good granulation to sustain higher loading rates is one of the key parameters to
increase the effectiveness of this process. The start-up and granulation depend upon
numerous parameters like inoculum characteristics and quantity, environmental
parameters such as pH, temperature, and nutrients availability in the wastewater, and
reactor hydrodynamics and geometry of the reactor, etc.

INOCULUM SLUDGE SOURCE

The presence of bacterial culture and carrier materials for bacterial attachment is
essential for the initiation and stimulation of sludge aggregation [Hulshoff and
Lettinga, 1986]. Digested sewage sludge is most commonly used as the seed for
 16/40

granulation. Relatively easy and fast reactor start-up is possible with this type of seed
sludge. The good inoculums digested sludge is characterized by low residual
methanogenic activity (< 0.6 kg CH4-COD/m3.d) as well as good settleability (SVI,
50 mL/g VSS) after wash out of the colloidal fraction [Zeeuw and Lettinga, 1983].
With this type of sludge a long enough biomass retention time is possible to enable
development of granular sludge devoid of support particles.

The digested sewage sludge with total solids less than 40 kg TS/m3 usually has higher
methanogenic activity than thicker types with total solids greater than 60 kg TS/m3.
Sludge with concentration of 30 to 40 kg TS/m3 exhibits the highest methanogenic
activity [Zeeuw and Lettinga, 1983]. However, the thicker types are more preferred,
since a longer sludge retention time could be maintained [Hulshoff and Lettinga,
1986]. With thinner types of sludges, excessive expansion of sludge bed may result in
washout of sludge, and a longer time may be required for sludge granulation.
Inoculated digested sludge concentrations of 10 to 20 g VSS/L in the reactor region is
recommended for thicker sludge type [Hickey et al., 1991b], and about 6 g VSS/ L for
thinner type of digested sludge.

Start-up without any seed material is possible for raw sewage [Barbosa et al., 1989,
Lettinga et al., 1993b]. Long start-up is necessary in this case. The start-up time
required in this case was reported to be 6 to 12 weeks. Start-up and granulation is
possible with inoculum sludge other than digested sewage sludge. Activated sludge
also has enough methanogenic bacteria and can be used as an alternative to digested
sewage sludge [Wu et al., 1987, Guyot et al., 1990]. Successful cultivation of
granules using digested sludges, activated sludge, cow manure have been reported for
variety of wastewater over a wide temperature range from 20 to 55oC [Hulshoff et al.,
1983a, Wiegant and Man, 1986, Wu et al., 1987, Manjunath et al., 1989, Campos et
al., 1986, Peng and Jin, 1993].

Facultative waste stabilization pond sludge was also reported to be a suitable

inoculum source for the UASB reactors treating a low strength domestic wastewater
[Gnanadipathy et al., 1993]. Flocculent sludge from an anaerobic rotating biological
contactor reactor can also be used for successful start-up of the reactor [Yan et al.,
1993]. Bottom sediments of polluted ditch and sludge from septic tanks may also be
used as seed material [Grin et al., 1983]. Even raw sewage and fresh cow manure are
among the options [Wiegant et al., 1985a,b, Wiegant et al., 1986, Souza, 1986].

If granular sludge from existing UASB reactor is used as seed material, it is superior
to digested sewage sludge. The start-up process with granular sludge may be faster,
depending on the nature of the wastewater and characteristics of the sludge [Hulshoff
et al., 1983a, Maat and Habets, 1987, Cao et al., 1992, Hajipakkos, 1992, Goodwin et
al., 1992]. If the UASB reactor is seeded with granular sludge adapted from other full
scale plants with similar wastewater composition, the full organic load can be injected
very quickly [Hacks, 1985] or even from the start depending on the volume of
inoculum granular sludge used. Thus, the start-up time can be reduced from several
months to less than a day [Maat and Habets, 1987]. But when, the granular sludge is
not available for similar characteristics of the wastewater and even if available the
cost of granular sludge is much higher, then it is necessary to go for primary start-up
procedure, which may be cheaper than adopting granular sludge.
 17/40

Problem may arise when the granular sludge is exposed to wastewater that has a very
different composition and strength from that on which the granular sludge was
originally cultivated [Hall and Jovanovic, 1982, Kudo et al., 1991]. The
characteristics of the sludge may be expected to change in this case and secondary
start-up becomes necessary [Peng and Jin, 1993].

Addition of small amount of crushed granular sludge in to the digested sludge seed
can significantly enhance the development of granular sludge [Hulshoff et al.,
1983a,b, Hulshoff and Lettinga, 1986]. It can sharply increase the methanogenic
activity. However, too large an amount of crushed granular sludge, greater than 15 %
of the total seed material, will have no obvious beneficial effect although a smaller
amount (less than 8 %) clearly enhances granulation. Addition of granular activated
carbon to the basic non-granular seed sludge also found to have enhancing effect on
granulation process and the reactor performance [Morgan et al., 1991b]. It is reported
that the supplementation of commercial charcoal (75-180μ) at 50 mg/L of reactor
volume in inoculum sludge improves characteristics of sludge developed in reactor.
This phenomenon could be very useful for the wastewater where granulation proceeds
slowly and dense sludge is unable to be formed [Ghangrekar, 1997].

IDEAL INOCULUM CHARACTERISTICS

It is suggested that the sludge with SVI less than 15 mL/g should be preferred because
sludge with higher SVI gives problem of sludge buoying. Intermittent operation of the
reactor is suggested as beneficial for initial days to overcome problem of sludge
buoying. It also helps in increasing the pH inside the reactor [Ghangrekar, 1997].

Sludge with concentration of 30 to 40 kg TS/m3 exhibits the highest methanogenic

activity [Zeeuw and Lettinga, 1983]. However, the thicker types are more preferred,
since a longer sludge retention time could be maintained [Hulshoff and Lettinga,
1986]. With thinner types of sludges, excessive expansion of sludge bed may result in
washout of sludge, and a longer time may be required for sludge granulation. The
amount of inoculated digested sludge required for reactor start-up may be 10 to 30 %
of reactor volume [Hickey et. al.,1991].

START-UP OF REACTOR:
The required amount of inoculum should be added in the reactor depending on the
desired sludge loading rates. The amount of inoculum required is generally about 30%
of the reactor volume [Hickey et. al., 1991]. While adding the inoculum care should
be taken for minimum exposure of inoculum sludge with air. The start-up of the
reactor, after addition of inoculum, should be preferably carried out at medium
substrate concentration (1000 to 3000 mg/L) to allow high hydraulic loading rates.
The organic loading rate during start-up should be preferably between 2 and 3.5 kg
COD/m3.d and sludge loading rate should be between 0.15 and 0.25 kg COD/ kg
VSS.d [Ghangrekar et. al., 1996]. With these loading conditions proper granulation of
biomass in the reactor is expected with low SVI and higher settling velocity of a
sludge for better retention. Once proper granulation of biomass is achieved in the
reactor the loading to the reactor can be increased in steps to match with designed
loading conditions. The OLR should, if possible, be increased by decreasing only
HRT instead of increasing COD concentration [Campos and Anderson, 1992]. This
 18/40

allows washout of poor sludge and improves mixing in the reactor. The predetermined
level of COD concentration, if greater than 3000 mg/L, should be achieved in steps
only after granules have been formed in the reactor. The step increase in loading
should be selected in such a way that it should not cause shock loading to the reactor.
The step increase in loading can be 1.5 to 2 times earlier loading or the increment in
OLR can be about 2 kg COD/m3.d and increment in SLR can be 0.1 to 0.2 kg COD/
kgVSS.d [Lema et. al., 1991], whichever is minimum.
 19/40

CHAPTER - IV
REACTOR OPERATION & CONTROL

Sampling, testing and analysis are basic steps in making a good reactor control
program. The purpose of a laboratory testing program is to identify and characterise
the kind of waste being sampled. This means that the sample is collected and checked
by chemical procedures to find what is in it and how it will act in the reactor.
The best and closest reactor control is achieved by monitoring the process with more
than one control parameter. The highest control can be obtained by monitoring the
volatile acids. The method is the one which allows preventive control action and is
not too difficult to perform.
Various indicators of the process of digestion are used for predicting possible trouble.
These are VA, temperature, pH, gas production, loading and COD reduction.
LAB TESTS & THEIR INTERPRETATION FOR CONTROL

The operator should use lab tests, such as COD, Volatile Acids (VA), gas analysis,
pH, alkalinity for process control. Other tests are also needed to give the complete
picture of the process.

IMPORTANCE OF SAMPLES IN CONTROL

Sampling is the first step in wastewater analysis. It is absolutely necessary to take

proper samples to get reliable and usable data. Proper samples are obtained by
following a few simple rules given below:
1. The sample must be representative; composite samples must be taken by
mixing proportionate volumes samples as per the flow rate.
2. Always run pH and temperature tests immediately on collection, generally
within 5-10 minutes.
3. For other tests refrigerate the sample if tests are not run immediately.
4. While storing treated wastewater samples, it is good practice to wrap plastic
sheet over the mouth of plastic jerry-cans with rubber band. This will allow
gases to escape out of can without bursting it.
5. Proper cleaning and rinsing of cans/ containers is must.

SAMPLING POINTS
The following samples should be collected for the reactor monitoring and control:
a) Influent: Tests performed on the samples of wastewater tell the process
controller what type of organic load is being fed to the reactor. By analysing
this sample for pH, acidity, COD, BOD, the operator can decide on feeding
rate and predict to some degree how the reactor will perform
 20/40

b) Reactor Content (Composite of diametrically opposite locations OR

overflow): This sample represents the well mixed active portion of the reactor
and gives the operator information on alkalinity and volatile acids as well as
on the non-controlling parameters such as chlorides, sulfates, dissolved
sulphides, sodium, calcium etc. and to check whether their concentration is
below toxic threshold limits. The presence of nutrients like Nitrogen and
Phosphorus in the desired quantities need also be checked.
c) Treated Effluent: This sample should be taken from the overflow of Lamella
clarifier, if provided. This gives the exact idea of treatment efficiency of the
whole anaerobic process. COD/BOD removal efficiency can be calculated
based on the test results of this sample. Since the interference of suspended
solids is very high that these tests should be carried out routinely on filtered
basis and removal efficiencies should also be regularly observed on the
filtered basis.
d) Biogas: The biogas mainly comprises of CH4, CO2 and H2S. On routine basis,
assuming that the CO2 and H2S contents are estimated by Orsat apparatus and
Tutwellers’ apparatus respectively and total content of these two gases when
subtracted from 100 , would give percent methane content on volumetric
basis. Operating reactors will show CO2 percentage between 35 – 50%

SUGGESTED TESTS AND FREQUENCY

The following table lists the tests and their frequency for control of anaerobic reactor.
This table is indicative only and should be modified on the basis of reactor
performance and guidelines provided by process supplier. The frequency may be
suitably reduced after achieving steady state condition. On other hand parameters like
VA and Alkalinity may be required to analyse more frequently during initial stages of
commissioning.

Reactor Treated
Sr Parameter Influent Biogas
Content Effluent
1 Temperature 4 hrs 12 hrs - -

2 pH 8 hrs 8 hrs - -

3 Alkalinity - 12 hrs - -

4 Volatile Acids - 12 hrs - -

5 COD 24 hrs 24 hrs 2 days -

6 BOD 1 week 1 week -

7 Total suspended Solids 2 days 2 days 4 days -

8 Nitrogen / Phosphorus 1 week 1 week - -

 21/40

9 Internal Pressure - 1 hr - -

10 Gas Analysis - - - 12 hrs

11 Flow measurement 12 hrs - - 12 hrs

REACTOR CONTROL
No process can be operated without adequate control and indications of its progress.
Controls are short term and used for correction. These are the tests that can be run to
confirm satisfactory operation or to indicate as action that would bring about change.
Indicators are tests which are run, recorded and used for forecasting purposes.
External Controls:
External control tests are used to help the operator in controlling what is coming into
reactor. The operator can use this test to tell:
• Whether any other waste is being mixed with wastewater to be fed
• Whether toxic materials are present
• Whether excess inorganic acids are being added to the wastewater

Internal Controls:
Internal controls show what is happening inside the reactor. Four tests recommended
for best control are:
• Temperature of Reactor content: Desirable range 38oC – 40oC
• Volatile Acids
• Alkalinity: Represents the ability of the reactor to neutralise the acids
formed during digestion or present in the incoming waste.
• pH: pH is one of the simple tests that can be run to indicate the
progress of digestion. However, the danger lies in depending too much
on pH as process control. Because of the alkalinity in the reactor, the
pH changes very slowly. In fact, the reactor may get completely upset
before the pH changes.
The frequent monitoring of the volatile acids and alkalinity and plotting of VA/ALK
ratios provides the best information for controlling the reactors, because these
indicators are the first to show a change when process begins to becomes upset.
Anaerobic reactors respond slowly once they are upset. Therefore the best operation is
obtained by preventing upsets.
 22/40

pH
Granular sludge can be obtained in UASB reactors over a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5.
However, operational pH in the reactor be kept at 6.7 to 7.5 since, this range is
considered to be an optimum for methanogen growth and provides some buffer
capacity to prevent acid shock due to overload conditions. Addition of NaHCO3 to
the wastewater is very effective in keeping stable pH conditions.

However, it was found that pH as low as 5.0 is functionally not inhibitory to

methanogens under low to medium loading rates [Bhatti et al., 1995]. Satisfactory
treatment of wastewater is possible under low loading conditions. Although treatment
is possible at lower pH, decrease in gas production by 20 % was reported by Goodwin
and Stuart, [1994] when pH was reduced from 7 to 6.2.

For proteinaceous wastes pH should be kept higher than 6.5 and the proteins should
be degraded as completely as possible. Otherwise, problems like foaming, protein
precipitation, and microbial inhibition due to high ammonia level may occur
[Hulshoff and Lettinga, 1986, Brummeler et al., 1985]. It is reported that intermittent
operation of reactor for initial days helps in increasing the pH inside the reactors. For
increasing the alkalinity, addition in the bicarbonate form reported to be more suitable
than hydroxide form [Ghangrekar, 1997]

ALKALINITY
Alkalinity Requirement
In flow through systems to maintain the minimum bed pH greater than 6.6, the
minimum H2CO3 alkalinity supplement required per influent COD will depend on the
nature of the waste, i.e., on the carbohydrate and protein content and potential to
generate H2CO3 alkalinity on breakdown. Minimum alkalinity supplementation for
the pure carbohydrate waste with zero alkalinity was reported as 1.2 mg (as CaCO3)
per mg of COD in the influent [Wentzel et al., 1994]. For predominantly
carbohydrate waste with zero alkalinity but substantial potential for alkalinity
generation; the alkalinity supplementation requirement may reduce accordingly. The
amount of H2CO3 alkalinity generation cannot be predicted and must be determined
experimentally.

It is well known that the buffer capacity due to bicarbonates is the most important
physico-chemical factor to maintain stable digestion conditions. In fact, the overload
of volatile acids (either directly entering the reactor in the feed or produced from more
complex substrates) which the digester can withstand is proportional to the
bicarbonate concentration in the mixed liquor [Weiland and Rozzi, 1991]. Monitoring
HCO3 concentration allows an indirect evaluation of total volatile acids, as every
equivalent of VFA which build-up during an overload will destroy (and replace) one
equivalent of bicarbonate.

For the reactors starting with OLR less than 9 kg COD/m3.d, to maintain pH near
neutral, alkali should be supplied up to 1g CaCO3/g COD. The alkalinity requirement
reduces with increase in operation time of the reactor. Alkalinity requirement is more
for reactors starting with higher OLR (greater than 9 kg COD/m3.d). Hence, it is
 23/40

uneconomical to start reactor and higher loading rates because of higher cost of
chemicals required [Ghangrekar, 1997].
The alkalinity consumed that at the bottom of the sludge bed gets regenerated at the
top of the reactor which may create problems of foaming in the gas collector inside
the reactor, particularly under the high loading.

VOLATILE FATTY ACIDS

Effect of Preacidification of Wastewater

Field experience with UASB reactors have shown that nonacidified wastewater give
rise to more abundant granular growth than the wastewater in which carbohydrates are
first all fermented to lower volatile fatty acids (VFA) [Vanderhaegen et al., 1992,
Thaveersri et al., 1994, Weigant et al., 1983]. More complex soluble substrates such
as sugar solutions give rise to very satisfactory granulation of the seed sludge. Also,
the granules cultivated on carbohydrates do not deteriorate on feeding it with acidified
wastewater [Wiegant et al., 1983].

It must be stated that granular sludge can be formed in reactors entirely fed with low-
energy COD, such as lower VFA. Yet, in these systems, sludge bed doubling times
are of the order of several months and the granules are rather small and fragile.

However, preacidification of sucrose was reported to be necessary to avoid bulking

problems due to fluffy granules in UASB reactors operated at high loading rates. The
maximum SLR for non-acidified sucrose was 0.5 kg COD/kg VSS.d. the maximum
COD loading rate of 20 kg COD/ m3.d. could be achieved due to bulking problems in
UASB reactor [Angenent and Shihwu, 2001]. Absence of pre-acidification can create
bulking problems due to abundant acidogenic bacteria at the surface of granules in
UASB reactor operated at high loading rates.

It is reported that, during start-up, high VFA concentration i.e. greater than 300mg/L
as acetic acid is not favorable for cultivation of good granular sludge. It is suggested
that, during start-up, OLR should not be greater that 4.5 kgCOD/m3.d and SLR should
not be greater than 0.3kg COD/kgVSS.d. to avoid high concentration of VFA inside
the reactor [Ghangrekar 1997]. It is reported that, during favorable loading condition
of start-up i.e. at OLR 2.8.5kg COD/m3.d and SLR 0.15-0.25kgCOD/VSS.d, VFA
concentration in the reactor was also within the acceptable limit for proper
granulation.

All these experiments clearly suggest that to achieve in-reactor granular growth, the
feed should contain substantial amount of fermentable sugars. Also, syntrophic
association of hydrogen oxidizing bacteria and hydrogen producing bacteria is
important for granulation.

TEMPERATURE
The operational temperature of the process is a very crucial factor since methanogenic
bacteria are highly sensitive to temperature [Gujar et al., 1983]. Granulation can
occur in mesophilic as well as thermophilic temperature range for both acidified and
nonacidified wastewaters [Hulshoff et al., 1983c, Hulshoff and Letting, 1986,
Wiegant et al., 1985a,b].
 24/40

Experiments that achieved granular sludge were operated at 30 to 35o under

mesophilic conditions [Lettinga et al., 1980b, Hulshoff et al., 1983a,b, Wu et al.,
1987, Zeeuw, 1983, Dold et al., 1987] and at 55oC under thermophilic conditions
[Wiegant et al., 1983, 1985, 1986]. The methanogen playing major role in granule
formation under both temperature condition is Methanothrix. Thermophilic
Methanothrix and mesophilic Methanothrix look much alike but filaments in
thermophilic are shorter. The activity for thermophilic Methanothrix granules is 4.2 -
7.3 kg CH4-COD/ kg VSS.d, higher than that reported for mesophilic Methanothrix
granules at 30oC as 2.2 - 2.4 kg CH4-COD/ kg VSS.d [wiegant et al., 1986]. At both
thermophilic and mesophilic temperature granules consisting of Methanosarcina Sp.
can develop under specific conditions. Although, granulation is faster under
thermophilic conditions, the mechanism underlying the granulation process is similar
for both the temperature conditions.

It is reported that at the application of one step UASB system at low temperature
eliminates (5-20OC). The hydrolysis of COD becomes limited in winter resulting in a
decrease of the mathanogenic activity of the sludge and therefore deterioration of the
treatment process, unless long HRT’s are applied (deMan, et.al.1990). The treatment
of sewage at temperature of 13OC was investigated in three reactor each 3.84 L [are
UASB and two anaerobic hybrid (AH) reactors] with small sludge granules. Although
the anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage has been application a large scale in
several tropical counties (Hulshoff pol et.al., 1997), the process is short not applied on
a full scale in countries with lower temperature mainly as a result of lower removal
efficiencies. It was also observed that at low temperature, a longer HRT (>12hr) is
needed and accumulated SS increases with decreasing temperature. The removal and
degradation of colloidal particles which represent 20-30% of total COD for domestic
sewage appear to become limiting in UASB reactors at lower temperature [Elmitwalli
Tarck A., Lettinga Gatze. et.al., 1999]. It is reported that, the reduction in
methanogenic activity at lower temperature was observed. The methanogenic activity
at 30OC was observed to be reduced by 56 to 77% at 25OC [Ghangrekar 1997].

The UASB reactor can also be operated at psycrophilic temperature range, around
10oC [Maat and Habets, 1987, Collivignarelli et al., 1990], but temperature from 15 to
55oC are most common. The production of VFA increases when temperature rise
above 8oC but, methanogenic activity increases from 12oC onwards. In experience
with domestic wastewater [Bogte et al., 1993], it was reported that below 12oC the
purification was predominantly based on settling. Complete transformation of VFA
in to biogas was achieved when temperature was above 15oC. However, short period
of low temperature does not negatively affect the overall performance of UASB
reactor [Schellinkhout, 1993].

At low temperatures, the growth of the active biomass may be so low that it is very
difficult and time consuming to accomplish the granulation process. Also, there is
vast difference in the specific activity of the sludge at different temperature. It has
been reported that the specific activity of sludge at 35oC is more than twice of that at
20oC, and about six times of that at 10oC [Lettinga et al., 1980b, Zeeuw et al., 1983].
Hence, the loading capacity of the reactor increases appreciably when the temperature
is increased from 20 to 30oC for the same COD removal [Bhatti et al., 1995]. For this
reason, process start-up should be done in mesophilic conditions even for the reactors
 25/40

designed to be operated at low temperature [Brunetti et al., 1983]. In all

circumstances, a sharp temperature change is detrimental to microorganisms and
should be avoided [Souza, 1986].

SUSPENDED SOLIDS

Effect of Suspended Solids

Finely dispersed and poorly flocculating matter in wastewater can affect the UASB
system adversely when present in high concentration [Brunetti et al., 1983, Lettinga et
al., 1980a, Hickey et al., 1991b]. It reduces the specific menthanogenic activity of the
sludge. The presence of SS in the influent may slow down the growth in the amount
of granular sludge. The attachment of newly formed bacteria to the continuously
supplied fresh particles will retard or even prevent the development of granules.
Also, the prolonged continuous entrapment of voluminous suspended solids in a
granular sludge bed may even lead to a spontaneous and sudden washout of almost
the complete sludge bed [Lettinga et al., 1991].

High concentration of suspended solids in the influent is detrimental for performance

of the reactor. The continuous accumulation of inert SS in the sludge bed may reduce
the specific methanogenic activity of the sludge. The SS in the influent can be
governed by two criteria such as, i) the influent SS should be less than 1g/L, and ii)
[Souza, 1986].

NUTRIENTS

Nutrient Requirement
Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur, as well as, trace elements should
be present in sufficient amount and in available form. Ratios of COD/N and COD/P
have been recommended to be less than 70 and 350, respectively [Brunetti et al.,
1983]. However, the wastewater with phosphatic buffer with very high concentration
retards granular yield [Vanderhaegen et al., 1993].

High concentration of sulphate in a wastewater can induce an anaerobic ecosystem

with a high proportion of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB). If H2S produced by SRB
accumulates to high levels, it inhibits methanogen growth and activity. However, the
presence of low concentrations of sulphate (0.15 to 0.30 mM) in the reactor effluent
appears beneficial to the growth of methanogens [Zeeuw et al., 1980, Hickey and
Goodwin 1991a, Visser et al., 1993].

TRACE METALS REQUIREMENTS

Heavy Metals Requirement

Metals which are considered to be most important for anaerobic digestion are Fe, Ni,
Co and Mo. These heavy metals were found as components of the essential enzymes
that drive numerous anaerobic reactions. These trace elements have a significant
enhancement effect on granulation [Zeeuw and Lettinga, 1980, Riera et al., 1985,
Murry and Berg, 1981, Yoda et al., 1991]. COD conversion and bacterial growth are
reported to be limited at iron deficient concentration. Bivalent ions (Ca, Fe, Ba) are
also found to be important in microbial aggregation [Shen et al., 1993]. Iron seems to
be involved in energy metabolism as a cytochrome and ferredoxin in methylotrophic
 26/40

methanogens. Iron is a growth-limiting factor for M-thermoautophicum and omission

of iron prevents in increase in the final biomass. Minimum amount of iron needed to
complete conversion of acetate is 0.1 mM, and addition of Fe at a concentration as
low as 0.01 mM causes a significant increase in CH4 production [Fatherpure, 1987].
The limiting concentrations of these metals are reported to be: Fe = 5 3M, Ni = 0.25
3M and Co = 0.10 3M [Callander et al., 1987].

Nickel is an essential growth factor for many methanogens. Nickel is also a

component of the carbon monoxide dehydrogenase in Methanosarcina barkeri
[Speece et al., 1983]. Nickel was shown to be essential in the growth medium of
Methanobacterium bryantii to prevent rapid cell lysis. Addition of Mo enhances the
rate of CH4 production during the early growth phase. Addition of Ni and Mo to the
medium may not be always necessary because low levels of these metals in the
medium as contaminants may be sufficient for the growth of Methanothrix sohengenii
[Fatherpure, 1987]. It was also found that bacteria in granules are efficient in
collecting trace elements, which are in very low concentration, even from the impurity
of feed chemicals.

It was found that extracellular polymers prefer to bind heavy metals when they are
available due to more stable complexes and addition of yeast extract enhances the
ability of bacteria to collect trace elements [Shen et al., 1993]. The cobalt and iron
concentration in Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) may suggest that cobalt
and iron bind to EPS competitively [Shen et al., 1993]. Inhibition of CH4 production
at elevated concentrations of trace elements may be due to nonspecific binding of
trace elements with the carrier proteins that are involved in their uptake and
incorporation. An excess of a particular element may saturate the carrier molecules
and thereby restrict the uptake of other essential metal ions. A metal ion in excess
may also replace the essential metal of an enzyme. This would result in decrease in
methanogenesis at high levels of these metals [Fatherpure, 1987].

Trace elements such as Fe, Ni, Co, and Mo can considerably affect the duration of
start-up because these elements are essential for methanogenic growth. The
approximate trace metals demand for low and high strength wastewaters are given
below [Weiland and Rozzi, 1991]:
Trace metal requirements
Trace Element Concentration range
10 g COD/L 50 g COD/L
Fe 0.5-20.0 3.0-100.0
Ni 0.05-3.0 0.3-15.0
Co 0.05-2.0 0.3-10.0
Mo 0.01-0.05 0.05-0.2

TOXICITY

Toxicity
Toxicity is mainly caused by the presence of excess concentration of heavy metals,
alkalis, sulphate, sulphide, chloroform, cyanide, phenols, chlorides, nitrate, oxygen,
etc. These toxic compounds should not be present at concentrations inhibitory to the
growth and granulation of microorganisms. When waste contains some toxic
substances, techniques such as, dilution of the wastewater, recirculation of the
 27/40

effluent, mixture of the waste with other waste, pre-acidification, etc., may be adopted
to reduce the toxicity.

A large amount of NH4+ ( > 1000 mg/L) is toxic to anaerobic bacteria, especially at
high pH values [Brunetti et al., 1983]. Other substance worth mentioning is sulphate.
By reduction, sulphate gets converted to H2S. Since, sulphide, particularly
undissociated H2S, may be highly toxic to bacteria. It is necessary that the COD/SO4
ratio be higher than 10 [Souza, 1986, Lin and Yang, 1991]. Besides, H2S may cause
odor and corrosion problems.

The saturated long-chain fatty acids caprylic, C8:0; capric, C10:0; lauric, C12:0 and
myristic C14:0; (where, in the abbreviation Cx:y, x and y indicate carbon chain length
and number of double bonds, respectively) proved to be toxic for methanogens in
granular sludge in UASB reactor. Their toxicity threshold levels for Methanothrix sp.
rich culture is 6.75 mM, 2.6 mM, 1.6 mM, and 2.6 mM for caprylic, capric, lauric,
and myristic, respectively [Koster and Cramer, 1987].

Phenols are toxic when present in a wastewater at higher concentration. No

significant toxicity of phenol was observed below 500 mg/L [Duff et al., 1995].
However, inhibition of methanogenesis was consistently observed between 2 to 3
mg/L PCP for batch toxicity test.

The effect of Chromium (Cr III ) and Cadmium (Cd ) on the anaerobic acidogenesis
of simulated dairy were examined using serum vials. At Cd dosage less than 20 mg/L
the acidogenesis process was enhanced by the dosage, resulting in higher degree of
acidification. At dosage over 20 mg/L, Cd inhibited the acidogenesis. At Cr (III)
exceeding 5 mg/L sever inhibition on acidogenesis was reported [Yu H.Q. et al,].

COD CONCENTRATION
The application of UASBR reported to be feasible for wide range of COD and BOD
concentrations for different industrial wastewaters. The reactor can give efficiency in
the range 75 to 90% for COD concentration ranging for 1000 to 20,000 mg/L. The
efficiency of the reactor is governed by the loading rates applied on the reactor rather
than COD and BOD concentration. In general it is observed that when OLR is
between 2.0 to about 10 kgCOD/m3 d. the reactor can give efficiency in the range of
80 to 90% irrespective of COD concentration when COD concentration is greater than
1000 mg/L. Under certain situations even lower COD removal is reported within
these loading conditions. For loading other than this, in general, the efficiency
reported is lower. Except in few cases where efficiency as high as 85% can be
observed for loading greater than 10 kgCOD/ m3 d.

For low strength wastewater like sewage with COD concentration 300 to 800 mg/L
(BOD 200 to 500 mg/L) this reactor is reported to give efficiency in the range of 50 to
85 %. Higher efficiency is reported when the loading is about 2.0 kgCOD/ m3 d. with
low HRT of about 6 hr.

For start-up of the reactor the COD concentration of the wastewater should be
preferably about 1000 to 3000 mg/L to allow high hydraulic loading rate. The
predetermined level of substrate concentration, if greater than 2000 mg/L, should be
 28/40

achieved in steps only after formation of granules in primary start-up [Compos and
Anderson, 1992].

Effect of Calcium
Bivalent cations such as Ca2+ exert a positive effect on the flocculation of anaerobic
sludge and for granules formation [Hulshoff et al., 1983a, Zeeuw and Lettinga, 1980,
Habets and Knelissen, 1985a, Fang and Chui, 1993]. Removal of calcium lead to
either disintegration or weakening of the structure of granules. Calcium is possibly a
constituent of extra cellular polysaccharide and/ or proteins, which are used as linking
materials. Bivalent cations have been implicated in the bacterial aggregation process
because of their ability to bridge between the electronegative carboxyl and phosphate
groups with bacterial surfaces. Calcium and iron salts (calcium carbonate, calcium
phosphate and iron sulphide) were also reported to provide natural inert supports for
the bacteria.

However, the higher calcium concentration may lead to the serious difficulties
because of CaCO3 scaling at the surface of the granules. The higher concentration of
bivalent cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ leads to the chemical precipitation (CaCO3, CaHPO4,
MgNH4PO4) resulting in the formation of granular sludge with high ash content
(inorganic matter) [Hulshoff and Lettinga, 1986, Thiele et al., 1990]. Even in few
cases it leads to very hard gravel like material in sludge bed [Kennedy et al., 1988].
While treating completely acidified wastewater with calcium concentration of 1200
mg/L unstable COD removal efficiency (60-90%) was observed due to cementation of
sludge bed leading to operational problems [Langerak et.al., 1998]. Calcium
concentration 780-1560 mg/L favors rapid granule formation with high ash content
leading to serious cementation of sludge bed [Langerak et.al., 1998]. Calcium
concentration of about 450 mg/L increases sludge washout from the reactor. High
concentration (800 -1000 mg/L) induces a decline in specific activity of granular
sludge [Hickey and Goodwin 1991a]. The concentration 80 to 200 mg/L of calcium
appear to be beneficial for granule formation [Lettinga et al., 1980a].
 29/40

CHAPTER - V
TROUBLE SHOOTING
Troubleshooting begins by knowing the system. The operator needs to know:
1. What each part of the system is supposed to do?
2. How each process or piece of equipment operates normally?
3. How to recognize abnormal conditions?
4. Alternatives available when trouble develops. Briefly, to recognize the trouble one
must know process/equipment work under normal conditions. The purpose of this
chapter is to present a ready and quick operational reference to process problems
and their solutions.
A flow diagram which works as a guide in troubleshooting is given on following
page. The process is upset when the indicators show changes from normal. The first
step is to find the correct problem. Is it loading, temperature, mixing, gas system or
toxicity? To find the problem, as shown in diagram, precede in a logical step by step
fashion through the possible cause blocks and eliminate all of the NO answers. This
procedure allows the operator to check the whole system to correct problems and not
symptoms. When the problem is found, the second step is to adopt following
Troubleshooting Measures (TM) for the best corrective response.

PROCESS UPSET INDICATERS

* Decrease in gas production
* Rise in volatile acids (Rise in VA/ALK ratio)
* Decrease in pH
* Decreasing COD reduction
* Sudden increase in suspended solids in treated effluent
POSSIBLE CAUSES: Check following until cause in found. NOTE: Several items
may occur simultaneously
Loading
* Loading rate has changed
* Influent COD has changed
* Flow of Wastewater increased
* pH of wastewater has changed,

if Yes See TM1 else see next

Temperature
* Reactor temperature changes more than 2°C/day
* Unable to maintain reactor Temperature
if Yes See TM2 else see next
Gas System
* Leaking gas
* Excess pressure
* Low pressure
* Poor gas quality

if Yes See TM3 else see next

Toxicity
* Slug doses of toxic material
* Feed reached toxic limit
 30/40

TROUBLESHOOTING MEASURES: (TM1)

Cause 1:
Every reactor is designed for a specific loading rate in terms of Kg COD (or kg BOD)
applied per day per unit volume of reactor. Whenever, the influent loading rate
increases beyond this, some after effects may be observed in the performance of the
reactor. The loading might have increased either due to increase in flow (m3/day) at
the same time increase in designed influent COD concentration or flow re-maining
same, influent COD concentration is increased.
Remedy:

1. Neutralise excess volatile acids by soda ash addition or Lime water

2. If it is possible to dilute the reactor contents by maintaining reactor temperature in

desired range, add water along with spent wash.

3. Decrease the feeding rate and starve the reactor for some time,

Cause 2:
pH of the wastewater is too low. The reason may be contamination by inorganic acids
by accidental spillage in the industry premises or by any reason.
Remedy:
Neutralise the wastewater before feeding to reactor and adjust its pH around 7.0.

TROUBLE SHOOTING MEASURES: (TM2)

Cause:
In winter, the temperature of the reactor content may go down due to heat loses taking
place especially during nights. It may be due to lower temperature of wastewater fed
to the reactor, in summer, temperature of the reactor content may go above 40°C due
to higher ambient temperature.
The anaerobic treatment process is highly sensitive to temperature. The bacteria
responsible for this treatment do not work so efficiently both below or above the
optimum temperature range and accordingly, reactor performance is affected.
Remedy:
1. Temperature of the wastewater is the only controlling means to maintain the
reactor temperature within optimum range.
2. If reactor temperature is going down, increase the temperature of wastewater
being fed to the reactor so that the reactor temperature can be raised and
maintained within the optimum range.

TROUBLE SHOOTING MEASURES : (TM3)

Cause: Gas leakage

Gas may be leaking through piping on roof. This may be due to valves not seating
properly or is stuck open.

Remedy:
Close the isolating valves and carry out necessary works without any gas welding.
 31/40

Cause: Reactor gas pressure above normal.

Water may have been accumulated in pipelines.

Remedy:
Open piping to remove water accumulated.

Cause: Reactor gas pressure below normal.

Fast withdrawal of biogas by blowers causing a vacuum inside the reactor if provided
Remedy:
Check vacuum relief valve for its operation. Check low pressure switch for its
operation and its setting. Operators are supposed to note the reactor inlet pressure
every 30 minutes and to stop the blower (if it is not tripped by pressure switch) if
reactor pressure drops below preset pressure.

Cause: Poor gas quality (higher CO2 content).

This may be due to process problems encountered by higher loadings.
Remedy:
Refer TM 1 for corrective action.
 32/40

CHAPTER - VI
SAFETY
BASIC CONDITIONS

Biogas generating reactors need maximum safety precautions amongst any other
effluent treatment plant. Plant operators should, therefore, be thoroughly familiar with
the problem areas, the safety device that is to be used, the precautions to take and
some general rules for working safety.

In Pump room there is possibility of accumulation of combustible gases, this depletes

the oxygen in surrounding air, therefore these rooms should be adequately ventilated.
Blowers should have isolation valves on the suction and discharge side for isolating
the unit. Piping connections and equipment should be checked frequently for leaks.

Methane gas is explosive when it comes in contact with air. Avoid mixing air with
methane in the range of 20: 1 to 5: 1. Maintain a positive pressure in all gas lines to
prevent in grace of air into the pipeline. Where-ever gas may be present; there should
be NO smoking, sparks or any open flame. Electric motors driving the biogas blowers
should be flame proof type. All electric drives should have proper covers. Operators
must be trained in their proper use and follow all applicable safety rules.

While neutralising wastewater or soda ash addition for pH maintenance, workers

handling caustic must wear hand gloves, gumboots, clear goggles etc. to avoid any
injury to skin and eyes. Similarly, during C02 purging, if used, C02 should be purged
in the reactor very slowly without allowing the pressure to exceed. The pressure
regulator of the cylinders should be operated gradually. If the regulator is opened
instantaneously, adopter and rubber hose pipe is likely to get damaged by the
excessive pressure.

MAINTENANCE SAFETY:

The following rules apply at all times whenever working with equipment:
1. Lock out and tag main switch to prevent accidental starting
2. When working on pumps/blowers, be sure suction and discharge valves are
fully closed and tagged. Be sure pump/blower is vented and drained. Isolate
electric supply lines as applicable
3. Direct exposure to Biogas should be avoided.
4. Welding on Biogas lines, effluent lines and digesters is not allowed.

LABORATORY SAFETY:

The handling of wastewater and numerous chemicals creates a potential hazard to the
health and safety of individuals in the lab. Danger originates when lab workers fail to
take caution in handling these materials, fail to read labels or fail to follow directions
and procedures. There always exists the possibility of inadvertent or accidental spills
which will require immediate, specific and correct action to mini-mize a potential
hazard. Inhalation of vapours must be avoided since many chemicals or compounds
 33/40

are dangerous in this respect. Most hazards caused in the lab result from improper
attention, carelessness and poor housekeeping. Some specific rules are listed below:
1. Use chemicals with due care. Know their properties and how to use them
2. Be sure that each bottle or container is labelled for contents, date, warnings
etc.
3. Read and follow directions carefully
4. Arrange and store chemicals according to poison, flammability, explosiveness
etc. and in proper places
5. Use existing ventilation facilities
6. Wear proper clothing, rubber gloves, aprons, safety glasses etc
7. Know the antidote for poisonous chemicals and keep these posted in the lab
8. When collecting samples, use appropriate sample collecting devices
9. Wash the eyes in the lab to flush the harmful chemicals accidentally splashed
on the face and emergency shower to flush chemicals off other parts of the
body.

GENERAL PLANT SAFETY

All persons should assume the responsibility of keeping walk areas free and safe of
tools, debris, spills, grease etc., checking to see that guards are in place on operating
equipment and all areas are properly lighted.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

1. Lock out and tag main switch of electrical equipment before working on it.
2. Do not remove tag without first checking with person who initiated the tag
3. Notify plant-in-charge in the event a motor circuit breaker trips out
4. Only trained plant personnel should open motor control panels and the
centralised instrument panels to perform authorised work.
5. Report and log any unusual motor temperature, noise, vibration, etc.

SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF

ACCIDENTS

1. Be alert to safety conditions around the plant. If something is out of place or

not working, fix it. Examples: light bulbs fused out
2. Prevent falling. Keep all areas clear and clean.
3. Pick up all loose objects, tools, rash, ladders, hose etc.
4. Clean up all oil or grease spills immediately.
5. Prevent body infections and disease
6. Do wash hands, Do wear gloves when working with waste equipment or
collecting samples
 34/40

7. Do bathe and change clothing before going home

8. Do use common sense when moving or lifting heavy objects. Lift heavy
instrument with proper body posture
9. Use proper equipment
10. Do not RUN to answer the telephone! Minimise the use of mobiles during
work
11. Use handrails on stairways
12. NEVER work on equipment without:
• Locking it out at push button or circuit breaker
• Tagging main circuit breaker
13. Know where safety equipment is and how to USE it
14. Know locations of all fire extinguishers and how to use them
15. All injuries, even scratches or skin abrasions, MUST be reported and first aid
given.
 35/40

SAFETY DEVICES (OPTIONAL)

ITEMS SAFETY DEVICES FUNCTION MAINTENANCE

GAS Flame arrestor Protect against flashback. Inspect monthly and
clean every month or
Methane is as experience dictates.
explosive in Water seal in flare Vents excessive gas to Inspect every 6 months
contact with air stack and overflow atmosphere and allow air into or more often for
weirs reactor under vacuum proper operation.

Pressure and Vents excessive gas pressure Inspect every 6 month

Vacuum relief valve and Brings air into digester to or more often for
break vacuum proper operation!
GENERAL Spark ignition To ignite the biogas at flare Check monthly for
system (optional) stack. carbon accumulation
on spark plug.

Good ventilation To remove gases from area.

No smoking, sparks To prevent explosion or fire. Check every month for

or Open flame presence of suitable
sign boards.
Go to inspection To be sure they work when
and Maintenance needed
program on gas
system and safety
devices.
CHEMICALS Rubber gloves and To protect the body of the Check corresponding
Danger from apron Face masks worker from bums or safety devices are in
inflammation Eye wash showers inflammation. place every time.
and bums
PHYSICAL Machine guards To prevent physical injury Check machine guards
INJURY Danger Railings Safety and lighting daily.
from falls and ladders House Perform housekeeping
misuse of keeping Lighting continuously. Check
equipment First Aid Kit cat ladders each time
used. Checking first
aid kit weekly.
ELECTRICAL Electrical lockout To prevent accidental turning Provide a sound
Danger from tags on of equipment. maintenance Program
shock and fire
Rubber mats To prevent electrical shock by
grounding through body

FIRE Portable Fire To put out fires Check Monthly.

Extinguishers Fire
Hydrants
 36/40

APPENDIX-I
OPERATIONS CHECK LIST

The following list is prepared to help the operator to make up his own check list:
A. Wastewater Frequency
1. Record volume pumped for a 24 hour period Daily
2. Run COD test for influent and compare with Daily amount to Daily
be pumped in to ensure that reactor is not overloaded.
3. Check pump operation for packing gland leaks, proper Daily
adjustment of cooling water, unusual noises, undue bearing
heat and suction and discharge pressure, if possible.
B. Recirculation
1. Record temperature and pH of recirculation contents Daily
C. Reactor
1. Record internal gas pressure in manometers Daily
2. Drain moisture traps more often at least once in each shift.
3. Flare stack for proper flame Daily
4. Record gas pressure Daily
5. Check for gas leaks Daily
6. Pressure relief and vacuum relief valves Monthly
verification operation with manometer and check for leaking gas.
7. Check level and condition for water in flare stack. Daily
8. Check level and condition for correct flow, leaks and vibration. Daily
9. Check the reactor gas space for gas leaks Daily
and odour. Record reading on pressure on pressure gauge
and drain moisture traps.
10. Check all gas piping for leaks. Test with soapy solution if a Weekly
leak is suspected.
11. Check online flame arrestors by noting the pressure drop Weekly
across unit or the equipment downstream is working.
12. Clean and fill manometer Monthly
13. Remove, clean and check all safety devices for proper operation 3Weeks

D. Fire Fighting Equipment Monthly

1. Ensure all equipments are in place and that unit is still within its expiry date.
 37/40

APPENDIX-II
SHUT DOWN
During the shut-down, maintain the following conditions:
a) During the acclimatisation period, in case the shut down is likely to be more than 2
to 3 weeks, it is recommended that at least 2-3 day’s volume of wastewater should
be stored so that the intermittent feeding can be resorted to and bacteria are not
starved for food in the incubation period.
b) Mixing should be continued.
c) Reactor contents should be constantly monitored for volatile acids, pH,
Temperature, TSS and COD. During the shut down, TSS inside the reactor will
reduce and the methane content in the gas will increase. The temperature of reactor
will also decrease rapidly.
d) If possible heat the recirculated effluent in inlet sump using steam. The details of
the system can be obtained from the technology supplier
e) During restart, the temperature of the reactor should be brought as quickly as
possible to 38°C. Towards this, we should initially feed the wastewater at 60° to
65°C or more, if necessary.
f) During the shut down, if needed, sludge recirculation pumps could be taken out of
service for maintenance one by one, provided that they are put back within 2 days.
At least one pump should be in running condition during overhauling.
 38/40

APPENDIX-III
GLOSSARY
Acid Forming Bacteria
The group of bacteria in a reactor that produce volatile acids as one of the by-products
of their metabolism. The acids are used as a food sources by the methane forming
bacteria.

Aerobic
A condition in which “free” or dissolved oxygen is present in the aquatic
environment.

Aerobic Bacteria
Bacteria which live and reproduce only is an environment containing oxygen which is
available for their respiration (breathing), such as atmospheric oxygen or oxygen
dissolved in water. Oxygen combined chemically, such as in water molecules H2O
cannot be used for respiration by aerobic bacteria.

Alkaline
The condition of water, wastewater, or soil which contains a sufficient amount of
alkali substance to raise the pH above 7.0

Anaerobic
A condition in which “free” or dissolved oxygen is NOT present in the aquatic
environment.

Anaerobic Bacteria
Bacteria that live and reproduce in an environment containing no “free” or dissolved
oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria obtain their oxygen supply by breaking down chemical
compounds which contain oxygen, such as sulphates (SO4).

Anaerobic Decomposition
Decomposition and decay of organic material in an environment containing no “free”
or dissolved oxygen.

Anaerobic Digestion
Wastewater solids and water (about 5% solids, 95% water) are placed in a large tank
where bacteria decompose the solids in the absence of dissolved oxygen. At least two
general group of bacteria act at balance: (1) Saprophytic acid forming bacteria break
down complex solids to volatile acids, and (2) Methane Fermenters break down the
acids to methane, carbon dioxide and water.

Antagonistic Compounds
Materials that are added to a reactor usually in a solution form that counteract or
nullify the toxic effect of certain metals. An example is adding ferric sulphate to
counteract copper salts.
 39/40

Buffer
A measure of the ability or capacity of a solution or liquid to neutralize acids or bases.
This is a measure of the capacity of water or wastewater for offering a resistance to
changes in the pH.

Concentration
(1) The amount of a given substance dissolved in a unit volume of solution
(2) The process of increas-ing the dissolved solids per unit volume of solution
usually by evaporation of the liquid.
Contact
The action occurring in the reactor whereby food and bacteria are intermixed,
allowing the food to be taken into the cell.

Mesophilic Bacteria
Medium temperature: a group of bacteria that thrive in a temperature range between
68 and 113oF.

Methane Forming Bacteria

The group of bacteria in a reactor that use volatile acids as food sources and produce
methane as a by product.

Organic waste
Waste material which comes from animal or vegetable sources Organic waste
generally can be consumed by bacteria and other small organisms. Inorganic wastes
are chemical substances of mineral origin and may contain carbon and oxygen,
whereas organic wastes contain mainly carbon and hydrogen along with other
elements.

Pathogenic Organisms
Bacteria or Viruses which can cause disease (typhoid, cholera, dysentery). There are
many types of bacteria which do not cause disease and which are not called
pathogenic. Many beneficial bacteria are found in wastewater treatment processes
actively cleaning up organic wastes.

Suspended Solids
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, wastewater or
other liquids, and which are largely removable by laboratory filtering.

Toxicity
A condition that may exist in wastes that will inhibit or destroy the growth of function
of any organism

Total Solids
The sum of dissolved and suspended constituents in water or wastewater usually
stated in milligrams per litre.
 40/40

Volatile Acids
Fatty acids which arc produced by acid forming bacteria and which are soluble in
water. They can be steam-distilled at atmospheric pressure. Volatile acids are
commonly reported as equivalent to acetic acid.

Volatile Matter
Apparent loss of matter from a residue ignited at 55oC + 2.5oC for a period of time
sufficient to reach constant weight of residue, usually 10 - 15 minutes.