UASB performance in presence of algae and synthetic media

An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) technology has showed an excellent performance compared to other biological treatment methods when a high organic loading rate of domestic and industrial wastewaters was applied. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect algae from lake-sediments and synthetic activated ceramic as media on UASB performance. The algae and synthetic media were introduced to the UASB reactor in order to obtain the enhanced granulation, which resulted in the increase in the UASB performance. 1–3% higher methane content and 3–10% higher COD removal efficiency were obtained in the reactors with the media than in the reactor without the media. The respective gas production rates in reactors 1,2, and 3 were 0.15–0.36 m3/kg COD-day, 0.24–0.54 m3/kg COD-day, and 0.24–0.56 m3/kg COD-day. As organic loading rate increased, gas production rates increased.