Microbial kinetic analysis of a hybrid UASB reactor

Abstract

Microbial kinetics of a hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor were investigated when treating chemical synthesis–based pharmaceutical wastewater. Mathematical kinetics models have been tested with strong wastewater to reveal the relationship between substrate utilization rate and microbial population dynamics, depending on the hydraulic structure of the reactor. The data were collected for use in these models by operating at mesophilic temperature (37 ± 1°C), pH 6.8-7.2, at different HRT (3-0.17 days) at high OLR values from hybrid UASB. Monod, First-order, Grau second-order, Modified Stover-Kincannon, kinetic models were applied to the hybrid reactor. Grau second-order model and Modified Stover-Kincannon were found to be the most appropriate models for the hybrid UASB (R2=0.99) and offers the best description of the process. The substrate removal rate constant (k2S) was found to be 3.43 d-1 for Grau ve maximum substrate consumption rate (Rmax) 1.016 g l-1-day for Modified Stover-Kincannon.