EFFECT OF THE PHASE SEPARATOR CONFIGURATION ON THE BIOGAS CAPTURE IN UASB REACTORS TREATING SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTE WATER

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the effect of the configuration of the phase separation element on the capture of biogas in UASB reactors treating effluents from industrial refrigerators, submitted to the same operational conditions. For this, two reactors with different configurations of the phase separation element were used, one in the conventional model (R1) and the other in the Y model (R2). The effluents of these reactors were monitored by means of physical-chemical analyzes. The flow rates and biogas compositions captured by the phase separators were also determined. From the results obtained, it appears that the two reactors showed satisfactory operational stability, since the pH values ​​remained in the neutral range. This result was corroborated by the good efficiency of removal of organic matter (74% for R1 and 73% for R2) and the high flow rates of biogas with high percentages of methane: on average 0.063 m³.d^-1 of biogas ( with an average methane content of  79.5%) for R1 and 0.064 m³.d^-1 of biogas (with an average methane content of 79.4%) for R2. When analyzing the data statistically, it was verified that there were no significant differences between the operational performances of the studied reactors. It was also found that the different configurations of the phase separation elements did not have a significant effect on the capture of biogas. Thus, this result suggests that the choice of the phase separation element configuration must be made based on financial and structural stability aspects.