Application of IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 to simulate butyric acid, propionic acid, mixed acid, and ethanol type fermentative systems using a variable acidogenic stoichiometric approach

Abstract IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) is the most widely recognised and popular mathematical model for anaerobic digestion processes. However, the application of ADM1 to acidogenic fermentation is limited by its use of constant stoichiometry to describe the formation of products via carbohydrate fermentation. This study presents a modification of ADM1 using a variable acidogenic stoichiometric approach in which the hydrogen partial pressure (p H2 ) and pH are used to predict and regulate the acidogenic process. The fermentation of ethanol and its kinetics were introduced into the model structure. Experimental data from mixed acid-type fermentation in a 28.4 L anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) fed with a sucrose solution with a chemical oxygen demand of 4000 mg L −1 were used to calibrate the model parameters. Two case studies involving continuous ethanol-type fermentation in an ABR and a continuous stirring tank reactor (CSTR) were used to validate the approach. The modified model achieved good predictions of the experimental data collected from butyric acid, propionic acid, mixed acid, and ethanol-type fermentation in the ABR and CSTR using the standard ADM1 parameter values without any parameter fitting beyond implementation of the variable acidogenic stoichiometry. The p H2 and pH thresholds in butyric acid, propionic acid, mixed acid, and ethanol-type fermentation could be predicted using this model, which was shown to be a valid mathematical tool for the regulation of fermentation type.