Register for free to
view the full innovation profile.
A helical lamella clarifier for separating gases, liquids, and solids in small (1-25 L) upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactors.
About
A UASB reactor experiences washout of active biomass from the sludge blanket through the effluent outlet, resulting in decreased power to treat wastewater. In large reactors, biomass washout can be mitigated using inclined plate settlers, or lamella clarifiers, downstream from the sludge blanket. The narrow cylindrical shape of lab-scale reactors complicates implementation of plate settlers, and no lamella clarifier solution is commercially available for use in small reactors. Instead of the traditional square settling plates, this lamella clarifier uses parallel plates in a helical array. The plates are bounded radially by an inner cylindrical wall and an outer cylindrical wall. The inner wall comprises a tube through which gas bubbles may rise and separate from liquid and solid particles. The clarifier may be 3D printed as a single piece and inserted directly into a lab-scale UASB reactor tank. Prototype testing has shown the design can significantly reduce biomass washout.
Key Benefits
Comprised of only one piece, the clarifier offers a compact plug-and-play solution much simpler to install, remove, and maintain than larger embodiments of inclined plate settlers. 3D-printing the clarifier makes it inexpensive to produce and easy to replace.
Applications
This clarifier is intended primarily for small-scale reactors (1-25 L). The fundamental design may also be applied to large reactors, but at much higher expense and complexity. Use of the clarifier in lab-scale reactors could aid students and lab workers in their research objectives by improving the quality of water treatment in small UASB reactors.