Overloading responses of a glucose-fed anaerobic fluidized bed reactor

The responses of a glucose-fed anaerobic fluidized bed (AFB) reactor toward s single- and multiple-pulse overloadings are evaluated. Under the conditio ns tested (i.e., pulse magnitude: 3-fold, pulse frequencies: 1 and 3; and p ulse durations: up to 60 h), the AFB reactor is capable of sustaining good total organic carbon (TOC) removal (i.e., >89%) during overloading periods and achieving quick recoveries (i.e., <1 week) without displaying any detri mental symptoms. This performance is a result of using porous media particl es for biomass retention, which enhances the process stability by minimizin g excessive washout of bacterial cells during overloading periods when biog as production intensifies. The completely mixed conditions maintained in th e liquid phase also help to mitigate the overloading impacts. However, the experimental data suggest that the glucose-fed AFB reactor is more suscepti ble towards multiple-pulse overloadings. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.