The general objectives of the present study were to develop an anaerobic digestion process for the treatment of the rum distillery slops stream at the pilot scale, and to establish design criteria for the full-scale application of the process. Both bench and pilot-scale experimental studies were conducted with the anaerobic contact process flow sheet (incorporating biomass recycle) to permit determination of the Monod kinetic constants and the kinetic relationships describing the anaerobic treatment of the slops. The process kinetics were used to examine the operating and performance characteristics of a plant-scale application. A process flow sheet was established and design criteria developed as the basis for estimating the cost of a plant-scale installation. The process kinetic relationships and the economic analysis were used to structure a cost-performance relationship to examine tradeoffs between cost, performance, and selected design variables.

Report prepared by Bacardi Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prepared for Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under project 800935, program element 1BB037, Roap/Task 21 BAC 13. Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-91).