Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) Treatment of Industrial Wastewater

The on-site pilot-scale Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) was used to treat the dairy processing wastewater at the Tulare Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP). A pilot unit with approximately 1500 gallons of active volume was operated for 7 months on a continuous basis with a range of 12 to 48 hour HRT conditions at ambient temperature. Throughout the study, COD and BOD5 removal was consistently over 90% under a broad range of organic loading conditions ranging from 0.63 to 9.72 kg/m3/d. TSS removal was also greater than 80% on average. In terms of organic removal, the SGBR system was robust over the range of temperatures experienced (10 to 29°C). Periodic backwashing consistently provided maintenance of a constant solids inventory and prevented an increase in head loss in the reactor. Based on these results, the SGBR appears to be an excellent alternative for the required pretreatment system from the Tulare IWTP. Several benefits for IWTP could be provided by a full scale application of SGBR due to its simple design and operational advantages over conventional high rate anaerobic systems.