Relatively low efficiency in anaerobic digestion process is mainly caused by unproper mixing method. In this study, tray motion type agitator was applied in actual anaerobic digestion tank in order to improve the digestion efficiency, equalize the flow velocity distribution and energy saving. The impeller of tray motion type agitator was reciprocated vertically. Gas lift type agitator and tray motion type agitator appears almost same mixing efficiency include digestion rates. However, tray motion type agitator have shown that lower energy consumption compared to the conventional gas lift type agitator. Implementation of tray motion type agitator in the anaerobic digestion tanks contributed to the stabilization of mixing environment, efficiency and energy efficiency of the tank.

In this study, a newly developed agitator with hydrofoil impeller applied to actual biological process in advanced wastewater treatment plant was evaluated. Several series of experiments were conducted in two different wastewater treatment plants where actual problems have been occurred such as the production of scums and sludge settling. For more effective evaluation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and measurements of MLSS (Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids) and DO (Dissolved Oxygen) were used with other measuring equipments. After the installation of one unit of vertical hydrofoil agitator in plant A, scum and sludge settling problems were solved and more than seventy percent of operational energy was saved. In case of plant B, there were three cells of each anoxic and anaerobic tanks, and each cell had one unit of submersible horizontal agitator. After the integration of three cells to one cell in each tank, and installation of one vertical hydrofoil agitator per tank, all the problems caused by improper mixing were solved and more than eighty percent of operational energy was found to be saved. Simple change of agitator applied to biological process in wastewater treatment plant was proved to be essential to eliminate scum and sludge settling problems and to save input energy.