PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF KALITY WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT’S UP FLOW ANAEROBIC SLUDGE BLANKET REACTOR USING SURFACE RESPONSE METHODS

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to examine and optimize the performance of anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) using the surface response method-central composite design (RSM-CCD). The influences of several operational parameters were considered, including temperature (0 to 30°C), organic loading rate (OLR) (1 to 3 kg COD/m3·d), pH (6.3 to 7.8), and hydraulic retention time (HRT) (4 to 12h). The pilotscale reactor had a volume of 48.8 L. The RSM-CCD was used for the determination of the number of runs and the optimization of operational parameters. According to the derived model, the reactor exhibited optimal results under the following conditions: Temperature (23.0°C), OLR (2.3 kg COD/m3·d), pH (7.5), and HRT (11.4h).  Removals of 84.1%, 99.9%, and 100% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), total