Optimizing load policy in anaerobic biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment

MUSSATI, MIGUEL; FUENTES MORA, MAUREN; AGUIRRE, PÍO; SCENNA, NICOLÁS

Santa Fe, Argentina

Congreso; 3rd. MERCOSUR Congress on Process Systems Engineering and 1st. MERCOSUR Congress on Chemical Engineering (ENPROMER2001); 2001

FIQ-UNL, CERIDE, INTEC, INGAR

A rigorous dynamic model of anaerobic biofilm reactor (Mussati et al., 1998) is used to optimize and evaluate different loading strategies in anaerobic wastewater treatment systems. This work includes variations in the original model so that the results of process simulation also represent the initial events of the start up operation as regards the biofilm growth. The model was implemented in gPROMS (General Process Modeling System). Different dynamic optimization formulations are evaluated. Start up strategies are considered and discussed. A sensitivity analysis regarding kinetic data on optimal start up policies under two different conditions is included. The first condition consists of a fixed maximum load, and the other one is the maximum load supported by the system, which varies according to the kinetic data being used. Changes in maximum specific growth rate, half saturation constant and specific death rate of Monod's model generate different optimal start up periods; whereas optimal start up time did not change when the maximum allowed load for each reactor is considered.