Secondary abstract: |
Anaerobic digestion is a complex multistage process used for degradation of organic compounds into methane and carbon dioxide in the absence of oxygen; at the same time, the process can also be used to produce renewable energy. It is therefore among the possibilities, by which it is possible to limit the use of fossil fuels and thus contribute to sustainability. Aerobic degradation, on the other hand, takes place in the presence of oxygen, where microorganisms in the oxidation process convert organic matter into carbon dioxide, water, nitrates and sulphates. The aerobic degradation process is most often found in wastewater treatment plants.
For the purposes of better understanding and further research of anaerobic and aerobic degradation, researchers have developed general models of anaerobic digestion ADM1 (Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1) and activated sludge ASM1 (Activated Sludge Model No. 1). During research for this master’s thesis, simulations of these two processes with the basic ADM1 and ASM1 models, as well as with the modified ADM1 model have been performed.
The master's thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part, the basic ADM1 model is simulated; in the second part, the ASM1 model is simulated, and in the third part the modified ADM1 model is simulated. All the simulations were performed in MATLAB software.
Based on the completed simulations, a comparison of results from the simulations with the literature was performed, and finally a comparison with the experimental results was made. It was found that ADM1 and ASM1 models function well in describing the kinetics of anaerobic and aerobic degradation processes. Given the complex nature of biologically active systems, some deviations between simulation results and experimental research were obtained. After all, models with already predefined processes were used, and the values of kinetic parameters were estimated, which are specific to our systems. Nevertheless, the models could be a good starting point for further laboratory research. |