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Currently running "retention tests" in which the gas chambers are filled with air and left overnight. A change in pressure or water level indicates a leak. By recording the change in pressure over time, we will calculate the volumetric flow rate of air loss within the reactor head units.
Final semester progress:
Reactor piping and instrumentation assembled and reactors inoculated. The biomass granules were fed synthetic waste water and produced biogas for two weeks before being disassembled. COD removal and methane production were measured and the reactors treated influential COD up to 85%. Next semester the reactors will be used to test the effects of oxygen stress on anaerobic cultures.