Heat pipe assisted anaerobic reactor

Abstract

Heat pipe which is a very effective thermal conductive device, has found alarge spectrum of applications but has never been applied in heating anaerobicreactors.In this research, a heat pipe assisted anaerobic reactor (HP AR) wasconstructed and investigated. The heating efficiency of HP AR was compared withinternally heated conventional system. The results showed that HP AR required 80per cent less external energy to maintain the same reactor temperature compared tothe conventional system. Thus, using an HP AR system, more net energy gain ispossible from anaerobic reactors.HP AR had an average COD removal efficiency of approximately 70 per cent(similar to conventionally heated reactors) when fed with sugar beet molasses. Biogasproduction was about SOL/day which was high enough to keep the anaerobicreactor at mesophilic conditions during operation.HP AR seems to be a promising application in anaerobic treatment due to itshigh energy recovery compared to conventionally heated systems.Keywords: Heat pipe, bio-gas, anaerobic, mesophilic