Abstract
The anaerobic fluidized bed (AFB) reactor, using spherical granular activated carbon (GAC) particles as the media, is evaluated for the pretreatment of hog wastewater. A laboratory investigation is performed to assess the effects of organic loading-rate on organic removal and methane production. The experimental evidence indicates that good removal of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) (filtered and unfiltered) and filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD) (i.e., >60%) can be achieved at loadings as high as 10.4 g unfiltered COD L/d. On the other hand, the removal of unfiltered COD was unsatisfactory because of the presence of high volatile suspended solids (VSS) concentrations in AFB effluents. The observed specific methane yield decreases with increasing loadings; however, the biogas produced is rich in methane, especially at low loadings. Attached biomass densities ranging from 0.01 to 0.024 g volatile solids (VS)/g carbon are attainable, which accounts for >99% of total reactor VS. Therefore, the GAC particles used are conducive for buildup of attached biomass in AFB reactors.
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