Modeling of an industrial Anaerobic Digester: A Case Study For Undergraduate Students

Authors

  • Ignacio Durruty Engineering school, National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP) and National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) J. B. Justo 4302, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
  • María Ayude Engineering school, National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP) and National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) J. B. Justo 4302, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Abstract

The case study discussed in this work is used at the chemical reaction engineering course, offered in fifth-year of the chemical engineering undergraduate program at National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP). A serial-parallel reaction system based on the anaerobic degradation of particulate-containing potato processing wastewater is presented. Students are encouraged to build a mathematical model and validate it using real industrial data provided by the instructor. The impact of key operative variables on the digester performance is analyzed via a parametric study. 

Author Biographies

Ignacio Durruty, Engineering school, National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP) and National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) J. B. Justo 4302, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Ignacio Durruty is fellow at National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) and adjunct professor of Chemical engineering at National University of Mar del Plata (Argentina). He received his Chemical Engineering degree at the National University of Mar del Plata (Argentina) and his PhD degree at National University of La Plata (Argentina). His research activity includes wastewater biological treatment and biological process modeling. 

María Ayude, Engineering school, National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP) and National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) J. B. Justo 4302, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

María A. Ayude is Adjunct Researcher at National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) and auxiliary professor of Chemical engineering at National University of Mar del Plata (Argentina). She received her Chemical Engineering degree and her MChE at National University of Mar del Plata (Argentina) and her PhD degree at University of Buenos Aires (Argentina). She has 15 years of academic experience. Her research interests are focused on chemical reaction engineering, in particular, advanced oxidation processes in multiphase reactors and biological treatments. 

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Published

2014-05-01

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 2 (2014): Spring 2014

Section

Manuscripts