The use of a specific function to estimate maximum methane production in a batch-fed anaerobic reactor
✍ Scribed by Ghufran Redzwan; Charles Banks
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 112 KB
- Volume
- 79
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0268-2575
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
A readily biodegradable substrate was used to assess the value of using a mathematical function of y = y~max~exp^m/x^ as a simplified method of determining the maximum methane production (G~max~) in a batch anaerobic reactor. Experimental results to test the method used three different initial substrate loadings in pre‐acclimatised completely mixed anaerobic reactors. Gas production was found to follow a typical trend that has previously been described by first order reaction kinetics; for the purpose of fitting the linearisation, it requires a value for maximum cumulative methane production. Use of the modified specific function to yield the equation G = G~max~exp^m/t^ showed that the experimental gas production curve could be estimated with a high degree of similarity. This was confirmed by a statistical analysis using the method of residuals which gave a correlation coefficient (R^2^) greater than 0.97 between experimental and estimated values. Using a graphical linearisation of the specific function produced a simplified method of predicting G~max~. The value obtained was then used in a first order kinetic model to derive the specific coefficient rate (K~o~), which was in agreement with other methods used for its determination. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry