Function of anaerobic portion in a conventional sequencing batch reactor

The performance of SBRs treating two kinds of wastewater(synthetic wastewater containing polyvinyl alcohol and effluent from a coke-plant wastewater treatment system)was investigated in this study,in order to examine the exact function of anaerobic portion in a conventional SBR.The set up of 4-or 8-hour anaerobic mixing period in a SBR's cycle did not benefit for PVA degradation.While an anaerobic reactor seeded with anaerobic sludge could partly hydrolyse and acidify PVA into readily-degradable intermediates.During the anaerobic fill period of an SBR treating the effluent from a coke-plant wastewater treatment system,the organic concentration was reduced to certain extent due to the adsorption of activated sludge and dilution of the mixed liquor from the previous cycle.Parts of readily-degradable organics in the influent were utilised by denitrifiers as carbon source.The biomass in a conventional SBR was alternatively imposed to aerobic and anaerobic conditions in its operating cycle,the environmental conditions needed for anaerobic hydrolization and acidification of refractory organics could not occur in such an SBR.