Numerical modelling of anaerobic digestion reactor dynamics with a delay

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion of municipal and animal wastes provides a potentially important means of producing energy sustainably. The reliable production of methane from anaerobic digestion requires that bacteria metabolise municipal and agricultural wastes to produce mainly carbon dioxide and methane. Our model uses Monod based kinetics and is complex since the biomass concentration growth is inhibited with the increase in substrate. The production of methane depends on the number of methanogenic bacteria; there is evidence from previous chemostats experiments that there is a time delay in population number of these cells to respond to changes in substrate concentrations. In this article we focus on determining the dynamical response of the methane production rate under different dynamics of feed conditions and temperatures. Since there is a delay in the methane bacteria mass response, we include the effects of the delay on the dynamics of the system based on modification of kinetics in a simple fermentation anaerobic model. We compare the dynamics of the system with and without delay to show the contribution of delay to the overall stability of the system. References

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