SKAA 4923 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment – Anaerobic Biological Process

11. ANAEROBIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESS

11.1 Introduction

 Definition

“Use of microbial organisms, in the absence of oxygen, for the stabilisation of

organic materials by conversion to methane (CH4) and inorganic products
including carbon dioxide”

anaerobes

organic matter + H2O  CH4 + CO2 + new biomass + NH3 + H2S + heat

 Applications

+ domestic wastewater – septic tank, sludge treatment

+ industrial wastewater - high strength organic waste, high nitrate and
sulphate content waste, e.g. agricultural based industry (palm oil,
rubber), dairy industries, food processing, chemical industries

11.2 Microbiology of Anaerobic Digestion

 Transformation from organic to CH4 and CO2

 Involve three main stages: hydrolysis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis
 Involve four groups of microorganisms working in sequence

+ Hydrolysis

large, complex soluble and insoluble molecules

(e.g. proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, fats)

 (extracellular
 enzymes)

simple and small products
(e.g. amino acids, sugars, fatty acids)
for passage across cell membrane

+ Acetogenesis (and acid formation)

 Fermentation of hydrolysis end products into organic acids, alcohols,

ammonia, hydrogen and carbon dioxide
 Organic acids are converted to acetic acid, hydrogen and carbon dioxide
 The primary product is acetic acid
 Microbes are robust and can tolerate wide range of environmental
conditions (pH optimum 5 to 6)

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 SKAA 4923 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment – Anaerobic Biological Process

+ Methanogenesis

 Formation of methane through two pathways

 conversion of acetic acid to methane

C2H4O2  CH4 + CO2 (acetoclastic / acetophilic bacteria)

 conversion of H2O and CO2 to methane

4H2 + CO2  CH4 + 2H2O

(hydrogenophilic methanogens)
HCO  CH4 + CO2
3-

 Microbes are sensitive to pH (6 to 8 only) – requires sufficient alkalinity

to maintain pH
 Rates of metabolism is lower than the acid forming bacteria – rate
limiting step in anaerobic digestion

11.3 Environmental Controlling Factor

 Temperature

 As T , rate of reaction also , but not as significant as in chemical reaction.

 Two optimal range to produce CH4
 mesophilic : 30oC to 40oC
 thermophilic : 50oC to 60oC
 Rate of reaction is higher at thermophilic range but requires high heating
energy

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 SKAA 4923 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment – Anaerobic Biological Process

 pH

 Optimum is around 7 (range between 6 to 8)

 Requires proper pH control as methane forming bacteria is very sensitive
to pH change
 Excess alkalinity is required (lime, sodium bicarbonate and sodium
carbonate)

 Mixing – important in pH control and maintaining uniform environment

 Nutrient requirement – requires less nutrient as compared to aerobic process

COD : N : P
Activated sludge 100 : 5 : 1
Anaerobic process 250 : 5 : 1

 Inhibitors

 NH3 - waste high in protein

 Sulphides – waste high in sulphate
 heavy metals

11.4 Variations in Anaerobic Treatment

 Conventional anaerobic treatment

 Contact process
 Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors (UASB)
 Fixed film reactors
 Two phase anaerobic digestion

11.5 Comparison between aerobic and anaerobic process

 While % of removal is about the same, aerobic gives better effluent quality than
anaerobic
 Anaerobic treats higher strength of wastewater as compared to aerobic
 Aerobic degradation generates more energy to miroorganisms, thus produce
more biomass (sludges) and also requires more nutrient
 Anaerobic is a more sensitive process w/r to methanogenesis stage
 Aerobic requires primary sedimentation tank while anaerobic may not require
the tank
 Anaerobic requires high HRT (7-10 days min) as compared to 1 day (aerobic)

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 SKAA 4923 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment – Anaerobic Biological Process

Homework 1 From a municipal wastewater treatment plant, calculate the amount of

sludge produced daily and the rate of gas production if primary sludge (assume primary
sedimentation is 60% effective) is used as a feedstock. The sludge is 2% dry solid (DS) and
70% is volatile solids. Assume 60% volatile solids destruction and a 25 day retention time.
The digested solids is 5% DS. The population being served is 50,000. The flow per person
is 225 L/day and the influent SS and BOD are 300 mg/L. The gas produced is at the rate of
0.15 m3/kg VS destroyed.

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 SKAA 4923 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment – Anaerobic Biological Process

Homework 2 Determine the volume of an anaerobic digester to treat waste activated

sludge from a population equivalent (PE) of 75,000. The daily (dry) sludge is 0.1 kg
DS/day/capita with a volatile content of 75% of DS. The specific gravity of wet sludge is
1.016 and the sludge is 4% DS. The anaerobic digester destroys 70% of volatile solids. The
final sludge is 7% DS with a specific gravity of 1.028.

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