Department of Environmental Engineering

ENVE 309
Fundamentals of Biological Treatment

TERM PAPER
“Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge”

Submitted by:
Sarp Çelebi

Submitted to:
M. Selcen Ak

Date of submission:
27/12/2014
 

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.  INTRODUCTION 1 

2.  BASICS OF BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT 3 

2.1.  ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS  3 

3.  ANAEROBIC DIGESTION 6 

3.1.  DEFINITION AND COMPARISON OF SLUDGE & BIOSOLIDS  6 

3.2.  OVERVIEW OF SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESSES  6 
3.3.  ANAEROBIC DIGESTION  7 
3.3.1.  THEORY OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION  7 
3.3.1.1.  Hydrolysis  8 
3.3.1.2.  Acidogenesis (Fermentation)  9 
3.3.1.3.  Acetogenesis  9 
3.3.1.4.  Methanogenesis  9 
3.3.1.5.  Interrelation of phases  10 
3.3.2.  FACTORS AFFECTING ANAEROBIC DIGESTION  10 
3.3.2.1.  pH and alkalinity  10 
3.3.2.2.  Temperature  11 
3.3.2.3.  Solids and hydraulic retention times  12 
3.3.2.4.  Toxic materials  12 
3.3.3.  MODIFICATIONS AND VARIATIONS OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PROCESSES  13 
3.3.3.1.  Low-rate (standard-rate or cold) digestion  14 
3.3.3.2.  (Single-stage) High-rate digestion  14 
3.3.3.3.  Two-stage digestion  15 
3.3.3.4.  Two-phase digestion  16 
3.3.3.5.  Mesophilic & thermophilic digestion  17 
3.3.4.  TANK DESIGNS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS  17 
3.3.5.  OTHER IMPORTANT DESIGN CRITERIA  18 

4.  CONCLUSION 19 

5.  REFERENCES 20 

 
INDEX OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Flow diagram of a typical activated sludge process……………………………….4

Figure 2.2. Sludge production (Yobs) vs. SRT graph…………………………………………...5
Figure 3.1: Successive stages of anaerobic digestion process………………………………….9
Figure 3.2: Effects of temp. and SRT on methane production and effluent concentration…...11
Figure 3.3: Biogas production vs. SRT graph obtained from semi-CSTR experimentation.…12
Figure 3.4: A schematic of low-rate anaerobic digestion process…………………………….14
Figure 3.5: A schematic of single-stage high-rate digestion process………………….………15
Figure 3.6: A schematic of two-stage digestion process………………………………………15
Figure 3.7: A schematic of two-phase digestion process……………………………………...16
Figure 3.8: Anaerobic tank designs…………………………………………………………...17

INDEX OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic digestion process……………………8

Table 3.2: Toxicity limits of selected inorganic substances in anaerobic digestion………….13
Table 3.3: Toxicity limits of selected organic substances in anaerobic digestion………….…13
Table 3.4: Advantage/disadvantage analysis of cylindrical and egg-shaped digesters…….…19
Table 3.5: Some basic design parameters for mesophilic anaerobic digestion process………18

 
1. INTRODUCTION
Activated sludge process is a very effective way of treating municipal and various
types of industrial wastewaters. In fact, almost all wastewaters containing biodegradable
constituents can be treated biologically in the presence of proper analysis and
environmental control (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.554).
Biological treatment (and here, specifically, activated sludge process) is the process of
conversion of complex organic molecules found in the wastewater into simple end
products (CO2 and H2O) and additional biomass (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.535).
But as Greek philosopher Empedocles once wrote: “Nothing comes to be or perishes.”
(Janko, 2004). Or a modern and corrected version of his famous aphorism: “Nothing
comes to be or perishes, if one does not regard conversion to energy as perishment.”
Turning back to our subject, if the organic molecules are not being fully converted to
energy, where do they go? As mentioned above, some part of them turn into carbon
dioxide and water and the rest is spend on cellular growth. Consequently, we cannot say
that we are completely free of those organic substances that we wanted out of the
wastewater. They are now in such forms that are easier to separate from the rest of the
water, but we still have to deal with them, in the form of cellular mass (i.e. biomass).
The major problems about waste sludge, can be listed as follows (Appels et al., 2008)
and because of these problems, we cannot just “dump” away the excess sludge:
 Almost 98-99% of it is still water.
 It is still highly putrescible and foul-smelling.
 Some disease causing microorganisms may be in it.
In addition to and in contrast with these problems Turovskiy and Mathai (2006, p.2)
also suggest that when waste sludge is processed properly, the resulting product known as
biosolids may have some beneficial uses also. Following is what they have stated:
 as fertilizer (because of its rich nutrient and organic matter content)
 for soil amendment at landscaping
 as daily cover or part of the final cover for landfills
As an advantage, Appels et al. (2008) also state that by the anaerobic digestion process,
up to 60-70 vol% of the waste activated sludge can be turned into biogas (methane, CH4)

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 which means a serious decrease in solid volume and energy output, which may in some
cases be able to meet plant’s complete heat and electricity needs.
Like in many waste management cases, the most desirable precaution is to waste less,
which implies reusing, recycling and/or reducing. Looking from the perspective of the
wastewater treatment plant operators, we can say that reduction is not a choice.
But luckily, we do not want to waste all the activated sludge after all. In fact, to
maintain a certain level of efficiency, almost always we must recycle back some of the
activated sludge. By adjusting the activated sludge process and selecting proper process
types, it is possible to increase the amount of recycling and even cancel out biomass
wastage (e.g. extended aeration ASP). But most of the measures taken for increasing
recycled sludge is not enough and even though they represent a very tiny portion of the
settled sludge, there are some non-biodegradable substances in it and they cause a constant
concern. Hence, some other techniques may be needed to deal with the waste sludge.
When we compare the quantities of treated wastewater and sludge produced, we see
that the sludge amount 100 times less than the wastewater. Nevertheless, sludge treatment
costs 40 to 50% of the total wastewater treatment cost, since where wastewater treatment
periods are measured with hours, sludge treatment may take several weeks. Thus, it is
crucial to implement cost-effective ways of sludge treatment at wastewater treatment
plants (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.2).
Anaerobic digestion is frequently utilized in sludge treatment routes as a key process.
Following is a list containing most of the treatment operations and processes of waste
sludge treatment (Appels et al., 2008):
 Thickening: 5-6 wt% dry sludge obtained by the use of gravity, flotation or
belt filtration
 Anaerobic digestion: up to 50% organic dry sludge is converted to biogas
 Road transport: taking the waste to a different place
 Mechanical dewatering: 25-35 wt% dry sludge is obtained by presses of
centrifuges
 Indirect drying: 85-95 wt% dry sludge is obtained by the use of heat
 Incineration

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 Throughout the coming parts of this text activated sludge process will be explained
briefly and anaerobic digestion will be investigated in detail.
2. BASICS OF BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Biological treatment is one of the mainly used processes for industrial or municipal
wastewater treatment whose objectives can be indicated as follows (Metcalf & Eddy /
Aecom, 2014, p.535):
 to transform dissolved or particulate biodegradable components into acceptable
end products
 to capture nonsettleable suspended solids into a biological floc or biofilm
 to transform or remove nutrients such as phosphorus or nitrogen
 to remove specific trace organics and compounds
To meet these aims, different kinds of approaches are implemented in the field of
wastewater engineering. Two different categorization methods are used to classify them.
One is according to presence of oxygen in the treatment basin (aerobic, anaerobic, anoxic,
combined), the other is with regard to where the microorganisms live (suspended growth,
where they are mixed inside the wastewater and attached growth, where they are attached
onto some surface and wastewater is passed through them).
Throughout the paper two main biological treatment processes will be discussed since
the main objective is to give information about anaerobic digestion of waste activated
sludge. One is the activated sludge process which is generally implemented as a means of
secondary treatment and an aerobic, suspended growth process and yields activated sludge
as a product, and other is anaerobic digestion, which is generally implemented to treat
waste sludge or heavy loaded industrial wastewater and an anaerobic, suspended growth
process and uses activated sludge as substrate.
2.1. Activated Sludge Process
Activated sludge process will be explained under Chapter 2, since it is a process where
wastewater arrives after just a couple of operations such as still can be defined as a
wastewater treatment technique, unlike anaerobic digesters, which are throughout the
paper will be considered as a process of sludge treatment.
Activated sludge process is a biological treatment process under the category of
suspended growth where the microorganisms are maintained in liquid suspension by

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 mixing and was developed around 1913 by two different research groups, one in
Massachusetts –by Clark and Gage- and the other one in Manchester –by Ardern and
Lockett- (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, pp.556-557).

Fig.2.1: Flow diagram of a typical activated sludge process (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.37)
The process gained its name from having an active mass of microorganisms capable of
stabilizing organic substances in the wastewater under aerobic conditions. After the
aeration process, the mixed liquor is taken to a clarifier where usually more than 99% of
the suspended solids can be removed and a clear supernatant can be collected as effluent.
The settled sludge is called “activated sludge” since active microorganisms are still in
there. And for this reason, we recycle some portion of the activated sludge back to the
aeration tank and let those microorganisms feed more on the BOD content of the
wastewater (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.557).
Now is good time to refer to some basic formulae of the activated sludge process to
have a better understanding about why we do recycling and how much we have to recycle,
and how much is going to be wasted.
Px =Y S0 -S -kd X (2.1)
WAS=Px +I0 +Et (2.2)
Px = net growth of biomass expressed as VSS (volatile suspended solids), kg/d
Y = gross yield coefficient, kg/kg

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 S0 = influent substrate concentration (BOD or COD), kg/d
S = effluent substrate concentration (BOD or COD), kg/d
kd = endogenous decay coefficient, d-1
X = biomass in aeration tank (MLVSS), kg
WAS = total waste activated sludge solids, kg/d
I0 = influent nonvolatile suspended solids, kg/d
Et = effluent suspended solids
Solids retention time (SRT) is also an important design and operating parameter for the
activated sludge process, which is in fact the average time the sludge solids stay in the
system.
X biomass VSS under aeration, kg
SRT days = = (2.3)
Px biomass VSS removed per day, kg/d

As it can be noticed, Px is noted as both daily net growth of biomass and biomass
removed daily. The reason behind this is that we don’t want biomass accumulation. So, the
amount produced must leave the system to maintain a constant biomass concentration.
Assuming there are no non-biodegradable volatile suspended solids in the influent of
the aeration tank, an expression for observed yield coefficient can be written as:
Y kg biomass produced
Yobs = = (2.4)
1+kd (SRT) kg substrate removed

We can get a combined and simplified formula for total waste activated sludge by
using the Yobs expression:
WAS=Q Yobs S0 -S +I0 (2.5)

Fig.2.2: Sludge production (Yobs) vs. SRT graph (WEF, 1998)

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 As it can be observed from Fig.2.2, as SRT increases observed yield (which implies
sludge production) decreases. This is due to the biomass loss because of endogenous
respiration and biomass to be wasted from the system decreases (Turovskiy & Mathai,
2006, p.38). In fact, this here lies a way to reduce and even cancel out excess activated
sludge production, as mentioned in Chapter 1.
But still, increasing SRT means building much larger aeration tanks, and this may not
be as cost-effective as putting an sludge treatment facility into operation. This is why most
of the systems usually yield more activated sludge than that could be recycled.
3. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
This chapter of the paper will be devoted to one of the most commonly applied sludge
processing and treatment methods, “anaerobic digestion”. But, instead of directly diving
into the subject, some basic information will be provided about the overall issue of sludge
treatment and its importance.
3.1. Definition and Comparison of Sludge & Biosolids
Any material produced during primary, secondary or advanced wastewater which has
not undergone any process to reduce pathogens or vector attraction is defined as sludge.
Whereas biosolids are defined by the Water Environment Federation (2010) as any
sludge that meets the meets the regulatory criteria and therefore can be used beneficially and
as one may guess, sludge must be exposed to some processed until it meets regulatory criteria.
This is where “anaerobic digestion” will play a vital part.
As demonstrated by UK DEFRA (2011), on the waste hierarchy the favorable option is
to dispose it. It is always more reasonable and favorable to try reusing or recycling the waste
and the concept of “biosolid” and the potential benefits that can be obtained from biosolids are
promising from this perspective.
3.2. Overview of Sludge Treatment Processes
Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom (2014, p.1452) suggest 6 main categories for sludge
treatment processes:
i) Preliminary operations:
 Grinding: Particle size reduction
 Screening: Removal of fibrous material
 Degritting: Grit removal

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  Blending: Homogenization of sludge
 Storage: Flow equalization
ii) Thickening
iii) Stabilization
 Alkaline stabilization: Stabilization
 Anaerobic digestion: Stabilization, mass reduction, resource recovery
 Aerobic digestion: Stabilization, mass reduction
 Composting: Stabilization, product recovery
 Heat drying: Stabilization, volume reduction, resource recovery
iv) Conditioning: Improve dewatering
v) Dewatering
vi) Advanced thermal oxidation: Volume and mass reduction, resource recovery
Surely, our interest here is stabilization. And perhaps the most dramatically effective
measure to be taken for sludge treatment is also it due to possessing the following aims
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1497):
 to decrease pathogens
 to remove malodors
 to inhibit, reduce or eliminate the potential for putrefaction
Nevertheless, it is good know that there are other processes utilized for sludge
treatment, each with different purposes.
3.3. Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion is a method of sludge treatment under the category of stabilization
and it is one of the oldest and most commonly used techniques available for this purpose
(Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.174). The major reasons beneath its extensive utilization
and some drawbacks of the process can be seen from Table 3.1.
3.3.1. Theory of anaerobic digestion
Organics are converted into mostly carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) by the
anaerobic digestion process, which can only operate under strict anaerobic conditions and
comprised of several subsequent degradation phases which are made possible by the
complex collaborative relationship of different microorganisms. The process can be
examined in three main steps, namely: hydrolysis, acidogenesis and methanogenesis

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 Table 3.1: Advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic digestion process
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1061; Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.174-175)
Advantages
1. As a source of energy, methane is
produced and usually the energy
produced exceeds the energy needed to
maintain the temperature of digester
chamber. Excess energy can be used
for heating buildings, running other
equipment or generating electricity.
2. Commonly, 30 to 65% of the raw
sludge solids are destroyed, meaning a
significant decrease in the cost of
sludge disposal.
3. Digested solids are generally free from
unpleasant odor.
4. Digested solids contain nutrients such
as N, P and organics which can be used
to improve soil quality.
5. Effective pathogen destruction can be
achieved, especially by thermophilic
anaerobic digestion.
6. Less energy requirement comparing to
aerobic processes since no aeration is
needed.
Disadvantages
1. High capital cost needed due to large
digestion tanks to meet the high detention
time need (~10 days), sludge mixing,
heating and feeding system requirements.
2. Slow digestion process also limits system’s
agility to adapt to changes in waste load,
temperature or other environmental
conditions.
3. Microorganisms involved are very
vulnerable to changes in environmental
conditions. So strict monitoring is required.
4. The process yields a low quality supernatant
that demands high amount of oxygen and
has high concentration of SS, N and P.
5. It may require alkalinity addition (due to
CO2 and subsequent carbonic acid
production).

3.3.1.1. Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is the step where both particular material and solvable high molecular
weight compounds such as lipids, polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids are

8
 
 converted into soluble organic
monomers like amino acids and long-
chain fatty acids and it is commonly
considered as the rate limiting step
(Appels et al., 2008).
Bacteria responsible for process
by synthesizing extracellular enzymes
such as lipase and protease are
facultative and obligate anaerobe
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014,
p.657). Fig.3.1: Successive stages of anaerobic
3.3.1.2. Acidogenesis (Fermentation) digestion process (Appels et al., 2008)
According to Turovskiy & Mathai
(2006, p.176), in the second phase, acid-forming bacteria transform the products formed in
the hydrolysis stage to short-chain organic acids (volatile fatty acids-VFAs).
In this stage, sugars and amino acids are converted into acetate (CH3-COO-),
propionate (C2H5-COO-), butyrate (C3H7-COO-), CO2 and hydrogen (H2) and fermentation
of long-chain fatty acids creates the following end products: acetate (CH3-COO-), CO2 and
hydrogen (H2) (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.657)
3.3.1.3. Acetogenesis
Acetogenesis is an intermediate step which is considered as a part of fermentation
phase and not being referred to as a separate stage in some of the academic sources.
In acetogenesis phase, some end products of acidogenesis step such as propionate and
butyrate are fermented further to acetate, CO2 and hydrogen, which are the precursors of
methane formation (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.657)
3.3.1.4. Methanogenesis
Two groups of Archaea organisms called the methanogens are responsible for
methanogenesis. Both of these types of microorganisms turn compounds into methane.
One group of them converts acetate to methane and carbon dioxide and the others use
hydrogen as e- donor and carbon dioxide as e- acceptor to produce methane (Metcalf &
Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.657).

9
 
3.3.1.5. Interrelation of phases
In a properly functioning anaerobic digestion unit, the levels of volatile fatty acids and
hydrogen gas are low, since acidogenesis and methanogenesis phases are at dynamic
equilibrium which means that the rates of the biochemical reactions taking place in both
stages are almost equal (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.176).
For example, say that a protein was hydrolyzed to amino acids (1), and then it
fermented to acetate (2), consequently acetate split into methane and carbon dioxide (3);
the rate of (2) is equal to (3). Contrarily, methanogens have very slow growth rates (i.e.
doubling rates measured with days) and are quite vulnerable to environmental conditions
such as pH and temperature, whereas acidogens can grow very fast and are functional over
a wide range of conditions.
So, in situations like shock loads or temperature fluctuations, acid and hydrogen
production get ahead too much, while methane production falls behind. And as acid and
hydrogen accumulate in the system, pH drops, further inhibiting the growth of
methanogens. Therefore, a small change in the conditions may lead to a total failure of the
anaerobic digestion process, if not handled properly (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.176).
3.3.2. Factors affecting anaerobic digestion
A number factors affect the anaerobic digestion process, including even the simplest of
the environmental conditions like pH and temperature. This sub heading will focus on
those parameters.
3.3.2.1. pH and alkalinity
As mentioned in the “Interrelation of phases” section, pH and alkalinity are measures
to be taken seriously when operating an anaerobic digestion process.
Each group of microorganisms have a different optimum pH range. Methane-
producing bacteria are affected greatly by small pH changes by having an optimum pH
range of 6.8-7.2 (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.179), whereas acidogens are much less
vulnerable against pH fluctuations, for having a much wider optimum pH range, namely
from 4.0 to 8.5 (Appels et al., 2008).
As reported by Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom (2014, p.1504), there are two consumer of
alkalinity which needs to be monitored attentively since a sudden drop of pH may cause a
serious process failure (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.176):

10
 
 a. CO2: Excess amount of gaseous carbon dioxide inside the reactor will be
dissolved in the water as carbonic acid and consume alkalinity.
b. VFAs: VFAs are solvable organic acids and will consume alkalinity as they get
produces by acidogenesis.
The most proper chemical for meeting the buffer requirement of the anaerobic digester
is sodium bicarbonate. Even though lime is also an option, it is not preferable, since it will
cause scaling problems inside the digester (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.180).
3.3.2.2. Temperature
Temperature influences many variables in a biological treatment system such as
metabolic activities of the microbes, gas transfer rates and sludge settleability (Metcalf &
Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1503)
As it was the case with pH,
different kinds of microorganisms will
have different optimum temperature
values. So, temperature affects
population dynamics inside an
anaerobic reactor (Appels et al., 2008).
Figure 3.2 is a good illustration of
temperature effect on anaerobic
digestion process. It can be clearly
seen than, temperature must be higher
than some limiting value. This is why
anaerobic digesters are operated in
mesophilic (30-38°C, typically 35°C)
or thermophilic (50-57°C) temperature
ranges (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, Fig.3.2: Effects of temperature and SRT on methane
2014, p.1504). production and effluent concentration (U.S. EPA, 1979)
Especially methanogens are
affected by sharp fluctuations in temperature, so maintaining a constant temperature is
very important to prevent system failures. Mostly, a change in temperature as small as

11
 
 1°C/d is sufficient to affect process efficiency, so changes bigger than 0.6°C/d must be
avoided (Appels et al., 2008).
3.3.2.3. Solids and hydraulic retention times
The most crucial parameter to
determine the size of an anaerobic
digester is the time the microorganisms
have to reproduce and metabolize
volatile organics. Here, solids retention
time (SRT) is the greatest concern and it
implies the average time the solids are
Fig.3.3: Biogas production vs. SRT graph obtained
held in the system [mass of solids inside
from semi-CSTR experimentation (Appels et al., 2008)
the digester (kg)/mass of solids
withdrawn (kg/d)], whereas, hydraulic retention time (HRT) is the value for the average
time liquid sludge remains in the system [volume of sludge in the digester (m3)/volume of
sludge withdrawn (m3/d)]. If recycling is not available for the digester, SRT=HRT
(Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.177).
When SRT is decreased, reaction extent will also decrease, and vice versa.
Experiments done on lab scale semi-CSTRs indicate that (Appels et al., 2008) (see also
Fig.3.3):
 SRT < 5 days: not enough for stable digestion, methanogens are washed out, VFAs are
accumulated
 5 days < SRT < 8 days: VFA concentrations are not lowered at sufficient degree
 8 days < SRT < 10 days: stable digestion with low VFA levels, lipids start breaking
down
 SRT > 10 days: highly stable digestion with significantly reduces sludge constituents
3.3.2.4. Toxic materials
A lot materials are toxic for anaerobic digester microbial populations, but in this
section just a portion of a wide range of substances which more frequently confronted in
domestic and industrial wastewaters will be examined (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.180).

12
 
 Heavy metals that are often cited to Table 3.2: Toxicity limits of selected inorganic
cause system failures are vital actually for substances in anaerobic digestion (WEF, 1998)
microbial growth at trace amounts. The
excess loads of them will surely, upset
the digestion process (Turovskiy &
Mathai, 2006, p.180).
Light metals ions such as sodium,
potassium, calcium and magnesium are
generally at decent concentrations in
domestic wastewaters and they do no
harm. But excessive amounts of them that Table 3.3: Toxicity limits of selected organic

maybe caused by industrial discharges or substances in anaerobic digestion (WEF, 1998)

buffer addition for pH stabilization

purposes, will also disturb the anaerobic
microorganisms (Turovskiy & Mathai,
2006, p.182).
Ammonia which is produced during
the anaerobic digestion of proteins and
urea may excessively high concentrations
in high-strength wastewaters. Ammonia
concentrations greater than 1000 mg/L
will also be highly toxic for the anaerobic
species (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.182).
Lastly, sulfide which occurs from the anaerobic digestion of sulfate by sulfate-reducing
bacteria is also toxic for methanogens when its concentration is higher than 200 mg/L in
the wastewater (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.182).
For more detailed information about toxicity limits of both selected inorganic and
organic substances, refer to tables 3.2 and 3.3.
3.3.3. Modifications and variations of anaerobic digestion processes
Four essential variations of anaerobic digestion process were developed during years
of experience: Low-rate (or standard-rate) digestion, high rate digestion, two-stage

13
 
 digestion, two-phase digestion. And anaerobic digestion units can also be operated under
two different temperature conditions, namely, mesophilic (between 30 and 38 °C) and
thermophilic (between 50 and 57 °C) digesters (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.182).
It is important to note that the modifications that have been developed are not confined
to the ones who are being discussed here. In fact, many other process variations are
suggested such as temperature-phased digestion (TPAD) and staged-thermophilic
digestion (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.187).
3.3.3.1. Low-rate (standard-rate or cold)
digestion
Following are some important information about the
low-rate digestion process (Turovskiy & Mathai,
2006, p.183; Appels et al., 2008):
 Simplest type
 30-60 days digestion period
 Large cylindrical tank with sloped bottom and
flat or domed roof
 External heating is optional
 Mixing is optional (generally not available) Fig.3.4: A schematic of low-rate
 Stratification in four layers anaerobic digestion process (Turovskiy &
 Supernatant is withdrawn and recycled back to Mathai, 2006, p.182)
the WWTP.
 Digested solids at the bottom are periodically removed.
 Considered for small WWTPs (<3800 m3/d) occasionally
 Seldom built nowadays.
3.3.3.2. (Single-stage) High-rate digestion
Following are some important information about the high-rate digestion process (Turovskiy &
Mathai, 2006, pp.183-184; Appels et al., 2008; Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1505):
 Heating is applied [most commonly mesophilic (30-38 °C) conditions are maintained
strictly]
 Auxiliary mixing is introduced:
o to lessen thermal stratification

14
 
 o to provide better contact with
biomass
o to decrease soaring of scum
o to minimize negative effect of
shock loads, sudden pH or
temperature fluctuations
o to increase effective volume
o to ease separation of product
gases Fig.3.5: A schematic of single-stage high-
 Raw sludge is thickened -to a degree rate digestion process (Turovskiy & Mathai,
that would not hamper pumping, 2006, p.183)
mixing or inhibit methanogens due to
high solvable concentration- before being fed to the digester:
o to decrease digester volume requirement
o to decrease heating costs
 Uniform loading is done to maintain steady-state and to reduce the adverse effects of
shock loadings.
 Old sludge is withdrawn before new load is fed to increase pathogen elimination.
3.3.3.3. Two-stage digestion
Following are some important
information about the two-stage
digestion process (Turovskiy & Mathai,
2006, pp.185-186; Appels et al., 2008):
 High-rate digestion tank with a
second tank (i.e. secondary
digester) connected in series
 Second tank is not heated and not
Fig.3.6: A schematic of two-stage digestion process
mixed.
(Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.186)
 Second tank may have a fixed
roof or a floating cover, if second is the case, it can store digester gas.

15
 
  In the second tank digested sludge solids are concentrated and supernatant liquor is
extracted.
 Sometimes second tank is also equipped with mixing and heating devices and is used
as a standby tank.
 This variation is not used commonly nowadays because experience showed that
secondary tank is not a good thickener, since:
o if digestion is incomplete, some gas bubbles will arise and hinder settling
o during digestion particle size gets smaller by mixing and decomposition
3.3.3.4. Two-phase digestion
Following are some important information about the two-stage digestion process
(Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, pp.186-187):
 Acidogenesis and methanogenesis phases are operated separately unlike the previous
three variations where all the step of anaerobic digestion take place in the same tank.
 First reactor:
o Called an “acid-phase
digester”
o For hydrolysis and
acidogenesis
o Has a retention time of
1-2 days
Fig.3.7: A schematic of two-phase digestion
o pH between 5.5-6.5
process (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.187)
o Can be operated under
both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions
o Methane generation is negligible.
 Second reactor:
o Called a “methane-phase digester”
o Has retention time of ~10 days
o Operates under mesophilic temperature range
 Advantages comparing with the previous modifications:
o VSS is removed with a higher performance as now, acid-forming bacteria are
also operating under optimum conditions.

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 o Production gases increase.
o Methane ratio in product gas increases.
o Better pathogen elimination is achieved.
o Foaming problems occur less frequently.
o Digestion process is much more stable.
3.3.3.5. Mesophilic & thermophilic digestion
Most the previously mentioned variations of anaerobic digestion process are generally
applied under mesophilic (30-38 °C) temperature range. Actually “mesophilic” and
“thermophilic” are terms to categorize bacteria with regard to their optimum temperature
ranges. Mesophilic bacteria will grow happily at temperatures between 30 to 38 °C, while
thermophilic ones are favored at the temperature range of 50 to 57 °C (Turovskiy &
Mathai, 2006, p.185).
Thermophilic anaerobic digestion has the following advantages against mesophilic
digestion (Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.185; Appels et al., 2008):
 Since temperature is higher, reaction rates are higher, thus VSS decomposition is
increased.
 Pathogen elimination performance is enhanced.
And here are some drawbacks of thermophilic digestion:
 Increased heating energy requirement
 Low-quality supernatant high in dissolved matter content
 Increased unpleasant odor risk
 Stability is harder to maintain, since thermophilic bacteria are more vulnerable to
temperature fluctuations
3.3.4. Tank designs for anaerobic digesters
For anaerobic digestion, there are different types of tank designs. In this section, brief
information about their area of utilization and advantages/disadvantages over one another
will be given.
Throughout history, three main type of tanks have been used:
a. Rectangular tanks: Rectangular tanks were used in the early years of anaerobic
digestion process’ development. They are not being used nowadays due to mixing

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 problems and other, more effective tank designs have been proposed and applied
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1512).
b. Cylindrical tanks: One of the two
basic types proposed by German a)
designers after the insufficiency of
rectangular tanks was identified. It
is still the most widely implemented
design (Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, b)
2014, p.1512).
c. Egg-shaped tanks: The other and
most recent one of the two basic
tank types proposed by German
designers which is widely used
c)
across Europe and becoming more
popular in the U.S.A. (Metcalf &
Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1512).
For further analysis, refer to table 3.4.  Fig.3.8: Anaerobic tank designs
3.3.5. Other important design criteria (a) conical bottom cylindrical tank

This last section of the paper will give the (b) waffle bottom (a modification to reduce grit
accumulation) cylindrical tank,
basic necessary information on some main
(c) egg-shaped tank
design parameters for anaerobic digestion
(Turovskiy & Mathai, 2006, p.192)
process.
Table 3.5: Some basic design parameters for mesophilic anaerobic digestion process
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, pp.1507-15010)

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 Table 3.4: Advantage/disadvantage analysis of cylindrical and egg-shaped digesters
(Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom, 2014, p.1514)
Type of digester Advantages
Cylindrical  Greater volumes of gas
(conventional) storage is enabled.
 Can be equipped with gas
holder covers
 Low profile
 Easier to construct
Egg-shaped  Grit accumulation is
minimized
 Scum formation is
decreased
 Mixing efficiency is
enhanced
 Biomass becomes more
homogenous
 Reduction in operating and
maintenance costs
 Less frequent cleaning
requirement
 Less land area requirement
 Minimum foaming
4. CONCLUSION
As conclusion to this paper, I would like to share my own opinions about the matter.
Disadvantages
 Low mixing performance and dead
zones
 Mixing results decrease more when
grit is accumulated
 Possible scum buildup and foam
formation because of wider surface
area
 Grit and scum must be removed by
cleaning, tank may become out of
service
 Possible requirement of external
gas storage because of low gas
storage volume
 High profile (may be aesthetically
objectionable)
 Top-mounted equipment are hard to
reach to, a high stair tower or an
elevator must be installed.
 Construction need more delicacy
(foundation requirements and
seismic considerations)
 Increased construction costs
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 This subject was particularly interesting for me because I did my second year
internship in Antalya at a domestic WWTP which did not have an anaerobic digestion unit.
But luckily, I had the opportunity to see a plant that does anaerobic digestion.
Nevertheless, it was just a daily trip, and though I’ve developed a very basic understanding
about anaerobic digestion, I couldn’t get sound grasp on it.
Although I cannot claim that I understood all of it deeply, through writing this paper,
I’ve learnt a lot about the anaerobic digestion process, the concepts of “sludge” and
“biosolids” and the importance of waste sludge treatment.
Lastly I must add, I am very surprised to realize that, despite the wasteful and
consumerist dominant culture, engineering and science can still find sources to research
very creative ways of minimizing waste and also apply them. This helps me see that there
actually are people who care more about the whole world then they care about themselves
and this gives me great hope about the future and fills me with joy and excitement.

5. REFERENCES

Appels, L., Baeyens, J., Degréve, J., Dewil, R. (2008) "Principles and potential of the
anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge," Progress in Energy and Combustion
Science, 34, 755-781

Janko, R. (2004) "Empedocles, 'On Nature'," Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 150,
1–26.

Metcalf & Eddy / Aecom (2014) Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery,
5th ed, McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.

Turovskiy, I.S., Mathai, P.K. (2006) Wastewater Sludge Processing, John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
Hoboken, NJ.

UK DEFRA (2011) Guidance on applying the Waste Hierarchy, London, UK.

U.S. EPA (1979) Process Design Manual for Sludge Treatment and Disposal, EPA 625/1-
79/011.

WEF (1998) Design of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, 4th ed., Manual of Practice 8
(ASCE 76), Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA.

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