title: Modeling the performance of an anaerobic baffled reactor with the variation of hydraulic retention time.
abstract: Anaerobic baffled reactors (ABRs) have been widely used in engineering but very few models have been developed to simulate its performance. Based on the integration of biomass retention and liquid-gas mass transfer of biogas into the biochemical process derived in the International Water Association (IWA) Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 (ADM1), a mathematical model was developed to predict volatile fatty acids (VFAs), chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and biogas in a 4-compartment ABR operated with variable hydraulic retention time (HRT). The model was calibrated and validated with the experimental data obtained from the reactor when the HRT decreased from 2.0 to 1.0d by stages. It was found that the predicted VFAs, CODCr and biogas agreed well with the experimental data. Consequently, the developed model was a reliable tool to enhance the understanding among the mechanisms of the anaerobic digestion in ABRs, as well as to reactor's designing and operation.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: jianzhengli@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianzheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China.
authors.forename: En
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antwi
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Shao-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Leu
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile
keywords: ADM1; Anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR); Biomass retention; Liquid–gas transfer; Mathematical model