Anaerobic treatment of wastewater containing fatty acids in upflow reactors

An extended summary is presented of a Dr.Sc. Thesis in which the results of a study on anaerobic treatment of wastewater containing fatty acids have been reported. This study, concerning the technological features of this process in upflow reactors, was aimed at the following subjects :

• - the dynamics of the fluid flow in the reactor;

• - the dynamic behaviour of the sludge particles in the reactor;

• - the kinetics of the conversion of the fatty acids and of the formation of the products (mainly biogas and anaerobic sludge); and

• - the separation of the gas and the sludge from the treated water.

From the results obtained in experiments on lab-scale and (semi) technical scale, a quantitative model for the operation of the reactor has been derived. This model can be used for scaling-up purposes and for optimisation of the process performance.