Technical Papers and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact on number of baffles placed in horizontal- or vertical-alignment of an anaerobic baffled reactor (HABR and ABR, respectively). Computational fluid dynamics was used to evaluate hydraulic performance of each and determine what number of compartments should be used to optimize reactor volume while adding minimal complexity. The findings showed that 3-4 compartments for the ABR or 4-5 compartments for HABR returned the greatest improvement before additional returns were minimized. Findings from this study are being used in implementations of a newly developed concept for onsite fecal sludge treatment in developing countries.