CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING OF THE HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOR OF A UASB REACTOR

CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING OF THE HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOR OF A UASB REACTOR

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Germán Dimitriv Jojoa Unigarro
Hilda Lizeth Rodríguez Zambrano
Santiago Cardona Gallo

Abstract

The conversion rate of organic matter in a bioreactor depends on two main factors: the reactor’s biological and hydraulic activity (Peña, Mara, & Avella, 2006). It is therefore necessary to understand treatment systems’ hydraulic behavior by using tracer substances in order to determine flow behavior: piston, complete mix, dispersion; the existence of dead zones, short circuits, advective flows, and real hydraulic retention time. The goal of this article is to model the hydraulic behavior of a UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) system through a tracer test using rhodamine WT and the stimulus-response technique. The non-ideal flow models used were the tanks in series model and the dispersion model. We thereby determined that the UASB system being studied showed the behavior of a completely mixed reactor with short circuits and dead zones.

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Author Biographies ##ver##

Germán Dimitriv Jojoa Unigarro, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín

Chemical Engineer, Faculty of Mines, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín.

Hilda Lizeth Rodríguez Zambrano, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín

Biological Engineer, Faculty of Science, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín

Santiago Cardona Gallo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín

Doctor in Environmental Engineering. Associate professor, School of Geosciences and Environment, Faculty of Mines, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín.