Anaerobic sewage treatment systems, notably the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor, have been applied successfully in Brazil in dozens of large scale units. In this paper a small reactor is proposed for use in single family houses, without a connection to a sewerage network. The proposed reactor is much smaller than the traditional septic tank and yet the treatment efficiency is much higher. It comprises a lower cylindrical digestion zone and an upper settling zone, connected by a transition zone. Several configurations with different digestion and settling zone diameters were tested to establish their influence on reactor performance. A high degree of organic matter removal was obtained with 250 L reactors with retention times of 6 to 12 hours. A large sludge mass was retained in the digestion zone and high treatment capacity was maintained throughout the study. Tests showed that sludge settled better in the reactor than it did after discharge with the effluent. In contrast the, methanogenic activity of the sludge in the reactor was the same as that of the sludge expelled.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
March 01 2017
Design optimization of a simple, single family, anaerobic sewage treatment system
Silvânia Lucas dos Santos;
Silvânia Lucas dos Santos
aState University of Paraíba, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Campina Grande, Pariba, Brazil
Search for other works by this author on:
João Paulo de Oliveira Simões;
João Paulo de Oliveira Simões
bFederal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Pariba, Brazil
Search for other works by this author on:
Francisco Vieira Paiva;
Francisco Vieira Paiva
cUniversity of Fortaleza – Department of Civil Engineering, Fortaleza – CE, Brazil
Search for other works by this author on:
Adrianus van Haandel
Adrianus van Haandel
*
dDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, R. Aprígio Veloso 882, 58.109-970 Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Practice and Technology (2017) 12 (1): 55–71.
Citation
Silvânia Lucas dos Santos, João Paulo de Oliveira Simões, Francisco Vieira Paiva, Adrianus van Haandel; Design optimization of a simple, single family, anaerobic sewage treatment system. Water Practice and Technology 1 March 2017; 12 (1): 55–71. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2017.010
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00