Sizing of UASB (UpflowAnaeron Pond) for

Wastewater Treatment Plant

January 17, 2013 Miss Rifka Discussion

I think this is my first time I learnt about Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB). Ive ever learnt
about anaerobic wastewater treatment, however I dont have any idea about UASB and what the
differences are. Since I am responsible as engineer in wastewater treatment package, I need to
learn about UASB (there is a possibility that this system will be included in the package).

What is Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket?

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket, or UASB, is a form of anaerobic (oxygen-free) digester used in
wastewater treatment. It is a methane-producing digester which uses an anaerobic process and
forming a blanket of granular sludge and is processed by anaerobic microorganism.
UASB was developed in 1970s by Letinga in the Netherlands. It is essentially a suspended growth
system in which proper hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR) is
maintained in order to facilitate the dense biomass aggregation known as granulation. (To learn
some of design criteria of wastewater treatment, follow this link).

http://intalasipengolahanairlimbah.blogspot.co
m/2010/05/anaerobic-biogranulation-sludge-blanket.html
Several considerations need to be taken into account in the operation of UASB in wastewater
treatment unit.

Initial seeding of some well digested anaerobic sludge blanket could be used. Minimum
seeding is 10% of total volume

Provide optimum pH and enough alkalinity

Supplement nutrients and trace metals if needed. Provide N & P at a rate of COD : N : P =
400 : 7 : 1 (conservative estimate)

Addition of Ca2+ 200 mg/L to promote granulation

How to Design UASB Pond

About a week ago, I asked the appointed vendor who will design and supply wastewater treatment
unit about design calculation of UASB pond. The design of UASB pond is a function of:

COD input of wastewater

Flow of wastewater

Organic loading rate

Hydraulic retention time

Organic loading rate is a measure of the biological conversion capacity of the anaerobic digestion
system. It is expressed in kg Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) or Volatile Solids (VS) per cubic
meter of reactor. A relatively high organic loading rate facilitated the formation of anaeronic granules
in UASB systems.
In general, there are two ways to design an UASB reactor.
1. If input COD is 5000 15000 mg/L or more, the design method should be used based on
Organic Loading Rate
2. If input COD less than 5000 mg/L, the design method should be based on velocity
Lets take an example.
Data
Wastewater input flow rate (Q) = 62.5 m3/day
COD = 15,000 mg/L = 15 kg/m3
Organic loading rate = 5.5 kg COD/m3.day (I found that organic loading rate is sometimes state of
art in wastewater treatment design. Some vendors may have already had the data)
Volume of tank = Q x C /OLR = 62.5 x 15 / 5.5 = 170 m3
Note: the above volume is the actual volume. You need to add more volume (as void volume).
The second method of calculation can be found in this link.