skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Fluid flow pattern in upflow reactors of anerobic treatment of beet sugar factory wastewater

Journal Article · · Biotechnol. Bioeng.; (United States)

Residence-time-distribution experiments for the fluid in a 30-m cubed pilot plant and a 200-m cubed prototype upflow reactor were performed by means of continuous injection of an LiCl solution as a tracer in the influent of the reactor and measurement of the response of this stimulus on several locations in the reactor and in the effluent. In a similar way as described in an article published earlier, models have been developed by use of the measured data of the fluid flow pattern which consisted of regions of ideal mixing, plug flow, dead space, and short circuiting. It appeared that the fluid flow patterns in the two reactors were to a large extent analogous. For the pilot plant, three-mixer models appeared to be appropriate while for the prototype reactor two-mixer models have been found. This difference was a result of the difference in the heights of the sludge beds in the reactor: 2-3 m in the pilot plant and only 0.4 m in the prototype reactor, a result of too small an amount of sludge. Another difference was that, due to a large amount of mud in the prototype reactor, a region of dead space occurred in the models for the fluid flow pattern in this reactor. The dimensions of the prototype reactor have been chosen according to several recommendations obtained from work with the pilot plant, (e.g., scale-up should be done by increasing the cross section of the reactor; one influent point should be applied per 5 m squared bottom surface). The results presented here clearly show the value of these recommendations. (Refs. 7).

Research Organization:
Lab Chemical Engineering, Delft Univ of Tech, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands
OSTI ID:
6748600
Journal Information:
Biotechnol. Bioeng.; (United States), Vol. 24:2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English