The Start-Up, Operation and Monitoring of High-Rate Anaerobic Treatment Systems: Discusser's Report

Abstract

The reduction of the duration of start-up and the improvement of process control are important factors in order to increase the competitiveness of anaerobic high-rate reactor systems. This paper discusses and reviews the specific similarities and differences of UASB, filter and expanded/fluidized bed reactors with respect to start-up, operation, parameter monitoring and process control. The influence of microbial, biochemical and physical parameters upon reactor start-up and process performance is evaluated and methods for process monitoring and control are described. The different role of stability indicators, which give an early warning signal of oncoming unstable process conditions, and control variables, which must be kept constant during operation, is discussed with respect to process control and reactor start-up. The merits and weak points of each reactor system are presented and all systems are qualitatively compared.