PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY OF ANAEROBIC HYBRID REACTOR SUBJECTED TO HYDRAULIC LOAD FLUCTUATIONS

Yusron Sugiarto1, 2, Pratin Kullavanijaya3, *, and Pawinee Chaiprasert1, *
1 King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, School of Bioresources and Technology, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand
2 Brawijaya University, Agro-industrial Biotechnology, Malang 61140, Indonesia
3 King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, PDTI, Bangkok 10150, Thailand
*Corresponding author: pratin@pdti.kmutt.ac.th, pawinee.cha@kmutt.ac.th

ABSTRACT
In this study, a 5.5-L anaerobic hybrid reactor (AHR) was periodically subjected to hydraulic load fluctuations via the reduction of retention time (HRT) from 3.0 to 2.0 and 1.0 d for the periods of 8.0 to 72.0 h. The obtained results demonstrated the significant capability and resilience of AHR in withstanding those transient fluctuations. A temporal and minimal effect was found when subjected to the short period of 8.0-24.0 h while, the longer and lower HRT of 1.0 d seemed to promote more acid accumulation, sudden drop of pH and methane composition. However, for all conditions, AHR could rapidly recover and resume to its previous operational stability within 1.0-2.4 d.
Keywords: AHR, biogas energy, biomethane, hybrid reactor, hydraulic load fluctuation