2000 Volume 62 Issue 5 Pages 43-49
A bench scale acidogenic process composed of four continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) was constructed to treat garbage slurry to produce volatile acids (VA) for gasification process. Steady state values of pH, concentrations of substrate, microbe and product for influent and effluent of the reactors were determined at operational hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4, 6, 8 and 10 days. The process was successful in degrading garbage solids as substrate and producing significant quantities of volatile acids as product. Relationships between the microbe or product and the HRT were simulated mathematically by using the parameters which were derived from kinetic evaluation of the process. The simulation showed the critical HRT was 1.5 days and indicated process modifications that might produce a higher concentration of product.
