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The granule size distribution in an anammox-based granular sludge reactor affects the conversion--implications for
E I P Volcke1, C Picioreanu, B De Baets
1Department of Biosystems Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. eveline.volcke@ugent.be
Biotechnology and Bioengineering
|January 19, 2012
Summary
Modeling granular sludge reactor performance requires accounting for granule size distribution. Ignoring this can impact nitrogen removal efficiency, necessitating advanced models for accurate solute exchange analysis.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Mathematical Modeling
Background:
- Granular sludge reactors are crucial for optimizing wastewater treatment processes.
- Current mathematical models often simplify granule size, assuming uniformity despite real-world distributions.
- Granule size significantly influences reactor performance and microbial competition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of granule size distribution on autotrophic nitrogen removal in a one-stage partial nitritation-anammox granular sludge reactor.
- To compare different modeling approaches for particle size distributions in one-dimensional biofilm models.
- To evaluate the necessity of detailed granule size distribution modeling for process analysis.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of modeling approaches: single characteristic diameter versus multiple compartment models.
- Application of one-dimensional biofilm models to simulate partial nitritation-anammox processes.
- Analysis of solute exchange and microbial competition based on granule size.
Main Results:
- Granule size distribution significantly affects conversion efficiency in nitrogen removal.
- Modeling approach impacts the assessment of competition between nitrite oxidizing and anammox bacteria.
- Detailed granule size distribution is crucial for understanding solute exchange between granules of varying sizes.
Conclusions:
- While uniform granule size modeling suffices for overall reactor behavior, detailed size distribution is essential for in-depth solute exchange studies.
- Existing software like Aquasim has limitations for analyzing detailed granule size distributions.
- Development of specialized software is needed for accurate modeling of granule size effects in these reactors.
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