A simple and low cost technique for determining the granulometry of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor sludge

Research Article| October 01 1999 A Simple and Low Cost Technique for Determining the Granulometry of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Sludge A. Laguna; A. Laguna *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar A. Ouattara; A. Ouattara **Université de Ouagadougou, Départment de Microbiologie et Biochimie, 03 B. P. 7021, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar R. O. Gonzalez; R. O. Gonzalez ***Depto de Matematicas, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar O. Baron; O. Baron *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico†Biotechnology Research Institute, NRCC, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, H4P 2R2, Montréal (Québec), Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar G. Famá; G. Famá *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar R. El Mamouni; R. El Mamouni †Biotechnology Research Institute, NRCC, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, H4P 2R2, Montréal (Québec), Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar S. Guiot; S. Guiot *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico†Biotechnology Research Institute, NRCC, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, H4P 2R2, Montréal (Québec), Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar O. Monroy; O. Monroy *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar H. Macarie H. Macarie *Depto de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. Michoacan y La Purisima, Col. Vicentina, 09340, México, D. F., A. P. 55 535, Mexico‡Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD, ex-ORSTOM), Ciceron 609, Col. Los Morales, 11530, México, D. F., Mexico Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Water Sci Technol (1999) 40 (8): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1999.0371 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation A. Laguna, A. Ouattara, R. O. Gonzalez, O. Baron, G. Famá, R. El Mamouni, S. Guiot, O. Monroy, H. Macarie; A Simple and Low Cost Technique for Determining the Granulometry of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Sludge. Water Sci Technol 1 October 1999; 40 (8): 1–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1999.0371 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Four techniques (microscope sizing, calculation from settling velocities, image and laser analysis) are available nowadays for determining the particle size distribution of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor sludge. These techniques present however the disadvantage of being either tedious, imprecise or expensive and hardly applicable in full scale treatment plants. There was then the need for a simple and low cost technique. In this study, a granulometry procedure based on manual humid sieving was evaluated. It was shown that no solid loss occured during the screening and that the particle size profiles were reproducible when performed with sludge samples of 5, 10, 25 and 150 ml, but not 1 ml. Only the results between 10 and 25 ml were however fully identical. It was shown also that the sieving could be performed on sludge samples stored for as long as 50 days at refrigerator temperature and that tap water could be use for the wash and backwash operations without any impact on the particle size profile. The granulometry obtained by image analysis was not comparable to that given by sieving. Nevertheless, no evidence of granule erosion could be found. In any case, the technique allowed us to follow the evolution of sludge granulometry perfectly over time. As a consequence, the manual humid sieving appears to be an adequate technique for determining the granule size distribution of UASB sludges. Anaerobic reactor, granular sludge, image analysis, particle size distribution, sieving, UASB This content is only available as a PDF. © IWA Publishing 1999 You do not currently have access to this content.