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INTRODUCTION

Anaerobic treatment technology has gained acceptance as the standard approach to treating a variety of unique, high-strength substrates produced by a wide range of industries and agricultural operations. The major impetus for treating such streams anaerobically is typically financial, based on the need for a cost-effective, high-performance treatment technology with relatively low operating costs and the potential economic value of biogas, a byproduct of anaerobic treatment.  

The number and types of anaerobic treatment systems being applied to industrial and agricultural waste streams have grown tremendously since the first technologies were introduced and commercially promoted in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Over the last 20-25 years the number of non-lagoon anaerobic installations worldwide has increased by nearly an order-of-magnitude and is now well over 3,000.

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

The market for anaerobic technology continues to be healthy, with approximately 160-180 new non-lagoon installations being built each year. The anaerobic lagoon is the most commonly applied anaerobic technology, with thousands of installations worldwide. There are an estimated 4,000 anaerobic lagoons in Latin America and 9,000 in China1.

The next most frequently applied technology is the UASB with nearly 1,400 installations. The fluidized/expanded bed process follows with over 900 installations worldwide. The number of contact process installations has climbed to nearly 400. The total number of filter installations is just over 200. The hybrid technology is the least used anaerobic technology, having just over 100 installations. The anaerobic membrane process is relatively new with less than 20 installations.

Anaerobic lagoons are used primarily in the agricultural, meat, and poultry industries. The anaerobic contact process is applied most commonly in the sugar, beverage (distillery), ice cream, and agriculture wastes industries. ANMBR systems appear to be best suited to high TSS, moderate FOG waste streams. UASB systems are used extensively in the beverage, brewery, pulp and paper, and vegetable processing industries. Anaerobic filters are employed commonly in the landfill leachate, chemical, and beverage production fields. Fluidized bed technology is used primarily by the brewery, paper, and chemical industries.     

Not surprisingly, Europe has the highest number of anaerobic installations, having been the leading proponent of anaerobic wastewater treatment since the late 1970s. The increasingly large number of installations in Southeast Asia and North America testifies to the cost-effectiveness of this technology. The three countries with the greatest growth in anaerobic systems are China, India, and the United States.

CONCLUSION

On an applications level, the number of consulting engineers and design-build companies with anaerobic wastewater treatment experience continues to increase. The number of viable anaerobic technology vendors with notable track records continues to decrease, with additional consolidation taking place in the marketplace. Although larger companies with significant financial resources dominate the worldwide anaerobic technology marketplace, new companies such as HydroThane continue to emerge. In addition, suppliers of anaerobic technology are now focusing efforts in the field of codigestion using municipal biosolids or agricultural manures as base substrates.


References

1.    Borzaconni, L., et al. “Report of Anaerobic Reactors in Latin America.” (1997).