Reduced gas pressure operation of sludge digesters: Expanded studies. Final report
Previous investigations strongly suggested that the municipal anaerobic sludge digestion process could be enhanced by reactor operation with subatmospheric headspace pressures. Enhanced solids destruction and methane production along with increased process stability were observed in these earlier studies. However, due to the small scale of the anaerobic reactors use (approximately 1.5L), definitive steady-state measurements could not be obtained. These expanded studies were undertaken to verify and define the magnitude of the benefits that might be obtained with vacuum operation of sludge digesters. Four reactors (approximately 15.0L) were fed municipal sludge at three different organic loading rates while being maintained with a 15-day solids retention time. One reactor had a constant headspace pressure of 1.02 atm; a second was maintained at 0.75 atm; and the remaining two reactors were operated for the majority of the day at 1.02 atm, and for part of the day with a 0.75 atm headspace pressure. Additional small-scale, batch experiments were performed to help identify controlling digestion mechanisms. The results of these expanded studies indicate that vacuum operation did not yield significant advantages over the organic loading range investigated (0.088 to 0352 lb vSS/ft(3).d).
- Research Organization:
- Syracuse Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- OSTI ID:
- 377359
- Report Number(s):
- PB-96-200530/XAB; TRN: 62613518
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: DN: See also PB--92-174168; PBD: Sep 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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