Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment in a bamboo ring anaerobic fixed-bed reactor

A pilot scale anaerobic fixed-bed with a reactor volume of $2.8m^3$ was built to treat slaughterhouse wastewater. Bamboo rings were chosen as support media mainly because of their cheaper price in underdeveloped countries. Even with their lower porosity and specific surface, the reactor performance showed a maximum 95% COD removal efficiency at an organic loading rate (OLR) of $1kg\;COD/m^3-d$ with its corresponding hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 7.5 d. At a higher OLR of $4.0kg\;COD/m^3-d$, the COD removal efficiency of 75% was achieved with an HRT of 2 d. No big difference in COD removal efficiencies was found between the reactors operated in both upflow and downflow modes. Their operational behavior and effluent characteristics were similar. The effluent COD/TKN ratio of 6.67 at an OLR of $4.0kg\;COD/m^3-d$ was only marginal acceptable range for a subsequent biological denitrification process. Otherwise carbon supplementation is required at a lower OLR.