Investigating the Treatability of a Compost Leachate in a Hybrid Anaerobic Reactor: An Experimental Study

Compost manufacturing plants are one of units where wastewater is produced in significantly large amounts. Wastewater produced in these plants contains high amounts of substrate (organic loads) and is classified as stringent waste which creates significant pollution when discharged into the environment without treatment. A compost production plant in the one of the Iran-s province treating 200 tons/day of waste is one of the most important environmental pollutant operations in this zone. The main objectives of this paper are to investigate the compost wastewater treatability in hybrid anaerobic reactors with an upflow-downflow arrangement, to determine the kinetic constants, and eventually to obtain an appropriate mathematical model. After starting the hybrid anaerobic reactor of the compost production plant, the average COD removal rate efficiency was 95%.