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Updated: Dec 27, 2025
Continuously-stirred Anaerobic Digester to Convert Organic Wastes into Biogas: System Setup and Basic Operation
Published on: July 13, 2012
Characterization of sludge reduction and bacterial community dynamics in a pilot-scale multi-stage digester system
Jeonghee Yun1,2, Hee-Wook Ryu3, Hyung Pan Kim4
1Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Sludge reduction performance and bacterial community dynamics in a pilot-scale multi-stage digester system with prolonged sludge retention time were characterized. Throughout the operation period of 281 days, the total loading sludge and the total digested sludge were 4700 and 3300 kg-MLSS. After 114 days of operation, the residual MLSS (RMLSS) in the reactors for sludge treatment was maintained at 18-25 kg-RMLSS m-3, and the sludge reduction efficiency achieved 95% under the F/M ratio (kg-loading MLSS kg-RMLSS-1) of less than 0.018. Also, among the sludge components, both fixed suspended solids and volatile suspended solids were reduced. Based on the sludge reduction performance and the RNA-based bacterial community characteristics, the combined action of the maintenance metabolism, lysis-cryptic growth, and particulate inorganic matter is proposed as the sludge reduction mechanism in the multi-stage sludge treatment process.
