10.2190/MUDC-W7AN-MEBF-G748 MUDCW7ANMEBFG748 4 A Predictive Model for Anaerobic Filters Treating Low Strength Domestic Wastewaters 201 232 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 MUDCW7ANMEBFG748.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=MUDCW7ANMEBFG748 3 Seth David Abramson 5301/2 N. San Vincente Blvd., Los Angeles, California The anaerobic filter pilot plant was operated for two years using low strength domestic wastewater. The pilot plant used two upflow reactors filled with a PVC packing material which supported the growth of submerged microbial films. A mathematical model was developed using first order mass balances of the major components produced both biologically and chemically, including CH₄, CO₂, and N₂. The model used characteristics of the influent stream to predict characteristics of both the effluent liquid and gas phases, and was programmed using the Crank-Nicolson algorithm. Predicted results were consistent with experimental data. Using optimized parameters of dispersion, velocity, and a first order reaction constant, the model predicted effluent treatment levels to within 5 percent of the data, with treatment efficiencies of 40-90 percent TOC removal, depending on influent concentrations and retention times. Operation of the model would determine conditions necessary for achieving secondary treatment standards of <30 mg/1 effluent BOD₅ and TSS on a monthly average for a variety of biodegradable substrates. Future applications would eliminate lengthy pilot plant studies to predict anaerobic filter performance. J. B. Coulter, S. Soneda, and M. B. Ettiger, Preliminary Studies of Complete Anaerobic Sewage Treatment, <i>Journal of Sanitary Engineering Division</i>, (ASCE), <i>82</i>, SA5, 1956. G. J. Schroepfer, W. J. Fullen, A. S. Johnson, N. R. Ziemke, and J. J. Anderson, The Anaerobic Contact Process as Applied to Packinghouse Wastes, presented at the 27th Annual Meeting, <i>Federation of Sewage and Industrial Waste Associations</i>, Cincinatti, Ohio, October 11-14, 1954. J. C. Young and P. McCarty, The Anaerobic Filter for Waste Treatment, <i>Stanford University Technical Reports</i>, Report No. 87, Stanford, California, 1969. W. A. Pretorius, Anaerobic Digestion of Raw Sewage, <i>Water Research, 5</i>, pp. 681-687, 1971. A. P. Y. Chung and M. K. Stenstrom, <i>Anaerobic Filteration of Low Strength Wastewater</i>, Water Resources Program, University of California at Los Angeles, SEAS-ENGR-82-27, Los Angeles, California, 1982. H. A. Kobayashi, M. K. Stenstrom, and R. A. Mah, Treatment of Low Strength Domestic Wastewater Using the Anaerobic Filter, <i>Water Research</i>, 1981. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 14th Edition, APHA-AWWA-WPCF, 1975. O. Levenspiel and W. K. Smith, Notes on the Diffusion-Type Model for the Longitudinal Mixing of Fluids in Flow, <i>Chemical Engineering Science, 6</i>, pp. 227-233, 1957. E. T. van der Laan, Letters to the Editor, <i>Journal of Chemical Engineering Science, 7</i>:187, 1958. L. Becker and W. W.-G. Yeh, Identification of Parameters in Unsteady Open Channel Flow, <i>Water Resources Research, 8</i>:4, pp. 956-965, 1972. J. N. Butler, <i>Ionic Equilibria: A Mathematical Approach</i>, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1964. J. A. Oleszkiewicz, <i>et al.</i>, Low Temperature Anaerobic Biofiltration in Upflow Reactors, <i>Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation, 54</i>:11, November 1982. P. L. McCarthy, Anaerobic Waste Treatment Fundamentals: Part II, <i>Public Works</i>, pp. 123-126, October 1964.