On-site Pilot Demonstration of the Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) for Treating Slaughterhouse Wastewater

An on-site pilot-scale SGBR system was evaluated for treating wastewater from a slaughterhouse in Iowa. The study evaluated wastewater suitability for treatment with the SGBR and compared the SGBR to other high-rate anaerobic systems. High organic removal efficiency (over 95% of TSS and VSS removal) was obtained due to the consistent treatability of SGBR system during operation at HRTs of 48, 36, 30, 24, and 20 h. An effective backwash procedure was performed to waste a portion of the accumulated solids in the system. This procedure limited the increase in hydraulic head loss and maintained the system stability. COD removal efficiencies greater than 95% were achieved at organic loading rates ranging from 0.77 kg/m3/d to 12.76 kg/m3/d. This performance was consistently better than other high-rate anaerobic systems treating slaughterhouse wastewater.