Anaerobic Digester Evolution at the Los Angeles Hyperion Plant

This paper presents the 15 year evolution of the Hyperion anaerobic digestion process from conventional digesters to egg shaped digesters, from single stage continuous to two stage continuous to two stage continuous-batch reactors, and from mesophillic to thermophillic operation. The paper presents representative operational data from four distinct periods of this evolution:Single stage, mesophillic, conventional,Two stage, mesophillic, conventional,Two stage, mesophillic, combined egg shaped and conventional, andContinuous-Batch Thermophillic, egg shapedThe information presented will provide other wastewater agencies valuable insight on the merits of different operating modes of anaerobic digestion facilities.