3. Technological control of anaerobiosis: different processes

3.1 History of reactor development

Unlike sludge treatment, where anaerobic treatment has been used for a long time, anaerobic treatment of water containing a much lower concentration of organic matter and, above all, with less complex substrates, has been marked by a number of failures.

In France, for example, a first reactor was built for the paper industry between 1965 and 1970, but never really got off the ground. The nature of the water to be treated (cold production of straw pulp) was particularly unsuitable for a first attempt, as the main compounds were very difficult to hydrolyze (woody compounds).

It wasn't until 1976 that a second plant was built, this time by a British manufacturer. This large unit, designed to treat more...