ANAEROBIC REACTORS FOR FOOD-PROCESSING WASTE-WATER TREATMENT - ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGY AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS

This paper presents the features and the most important empirical desi gn parameters of anaerobic filters (AF) and up-flow anaerobic sludge b lanket (UASB) reactors which are the main anaerobic process units used for the treatment of low-strength food-processing wastewaters in Braz il. The technology associated with this type of reactors can be consid ered well established, since they are reliable operating at temperatur es ranging from 15 to 30 degrees C and at volumetric organic loading r ates (OLR) lower than 5.0 kg COD.m(-3).d(-1). Recently, a new configur ation of anaerobic reactor - the horizontal-flow anaerobic immobilized sludge (HAIS) reactor, has been proposed for the treatment of low-str ength wastewaters. The sequence of fundamental and applied researches aiming to establish rational design parameters for the HAIS reactor sc ale-up is presented here. Copyright (C) 1996 IAWQ. Published by Elsevi er Science Ltd.