Abstract
Effect of organic loading rate on UASB performance was evaluated under the renditions of some surface area/reactor volume ratio and different reactor diameter. At the low leading rate of 0.4 kg $COD/m^3{\cdot}d$, reactor performance was not affected by reactor diameter. At the organic loading rate of 6 kg $COD/m^3{\cdot}d$, however, volatile acid accumulation and low COD removal efficiency is observed in reactor having 6.4 cm diameter, while volatile acid is not accumulated at all and high COD removal efficiency is observed in reactor having 3 cm diameter. Such a difference of reactor performance depending on reactor diameter can be explained that sludge bed can be fluidized by evolved gas bubble in narrow reactor, while sludge bed ran not be fluidized by evolved gas bubble only in wide reactor. At a high organic loading rate of 20 kg $COD/m^3{\cdot}d$, it can be judged that there is no relation between reactor configuration and reactor performance because all reactors showed very low COD removal efficiencies regardless of reactor diameter. Narrow and tall type reactor is favorable condition for making sludge bed fluidization at a constant surface area/reactor volume ratio. Thus, it can be judged that reactor configuration and sludge bed fluidization have great influence to reactor performance.
