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Biogas Production Modelling Based on a Semi-Continuous Feeding Operation in a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

Author

Listed:
  • Derick Lima

    (School of Electrical and Data Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia)

  • Li Li

    (School of Electrical and Data Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia)

  • Gregory Appleby

    (Sydney Water Corporation, Sydney 2124, Australia)

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion is a common method for treating sewage sludge in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, modelling this process can be very challenging due to the complexity of biochemical reactions. This paper presents a novel methodology that estimates biogas production from sewage sludge by considering the semi-continuous sludge-feeding process of the digester. In most WWTPs, the sewage sludge treatment operates in a dynamic process; therefore, using a time-dependent tool that represents this dynamic process is essential for accurately representing biogas production. The biogas production results from the proposed model are compared against the historical data for a large-scale WWTP located in Sydney, Australia. The proposed model shows great accuracy and follows the historical data trend very precisely. The average biogas production based on historical data for 2020, 2021, and 2022 was 37,337 m 3 /d, 31,695 m 3 /d, and 23,350 m 3 /d, whereas for the proposed model, it was 37,960 m 3 /d, 30,465 m 3 /d, and 23,080 m 3 /d. Over the three-year period, the average biogas production was 30,794 m 3 /d for historical data and 30,503 m 3 /d for the proposed model, which shows a great level of accuracy (R 2 of 0.85 and average error of 4.64%) on the results of the proposed model and WWTP historical data.

Suggested Citation

  • Derick Lima & Li Li & Gregory Appleby, 2025. "Biogas Production Modelling Based on a Semi-Continuous Feeding Operation in a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:1065-:d:1597223
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Derick Lima & Li Li & Gregory Appleby, 2024. "A Review of Renewable Energy Technologies in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-52, December.
    2. Chowdhury, R.B.S. & Fulford, D.J., 1992. "Batch and semi-continuous anaerobic digestion systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 391-400.
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