ANAEROBIC TREATMENT OF MOLASSES WASTE-WATER .2. SLUDGE AND SUBSTRATE PROFILES

Molasses wastewater was treated anaerobically using an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) and a hybrid UASB reactor. Profiles for the sludge, chemical oxygen demand and volatile fatty acids were determined. The results indicated that the optimum sludge loading rate was much lower for this type of wastewater. The installation of ropes in the mid-section of the hybrid reactor did not interfere with the flow pattern. The sludge blanket was a perfectly mixed region with respect to the liquid phase. Volatile fatty acids were degraded in the sludge blanket region of the hybrid UASB reactor, while they remained high in the conventional UASB reactor. In this way, the stability of the hybrid reactor was greater, and it was more tolerant to higher organic loading rates than was the conventional UASB reactor.