Modelling the effect of the antimicrobial tylosin on the performance of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor.

A laboratory-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) was fed a synthetic wastewater containing glucose to study the effects of the antimicrobial tylosin on treatment performance. Measurements of methane, volatile fatty acids, and COD concentrations suggested that the addition of 1.67 mg/L and 167 mg/l of tylosin to the synthetic wastewater inhibited propionate oxidizing syntrophic bacteria and aceticlastic methanogens. The latter is presumed to be an indirect effect. A modified version of the IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) with extensions for microbial storage and hydrolysis of reserve carbohydrates, and tylosin liquid-solid mass transfer and inhibition adequately described the dynamic profiles observed in the ASBR.