Application of CFD methods to an anaerobic digester: The case of Ontinyent WWTP, Valencia, Spain

In recent years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods have increasingly been used to characterize hydrodynamics and mass-transport in wastewater treatment units. Despite being a well-known and widely applied treatment method to stabilize sludge before final disposal, the hydrodynamics and mass transport in the anaerobic digester have been less studied than those of other treatment units. This paper presents the preliminary results of a 3D numerical study, investigating the characteristics of sludge flow inside the Ontinyent Wastewater Treatment Plant anaerobic digester (Valencia, Spain). An approach based upon the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation was applied, and closure was obtained using the classical standard k–ϵ model. In this particular case, a single-phase model was applied considering both Newtonian and Non Newtonian behavior for the sludge simulations. These single-phase preliminary results allowed the occurrence of dead zones to be identified as well as possible shortcuts inside the digester. The analysis was carried out considering the velocities and the flow patterns inside the digester as well as the sludge volume in the digester that had lower velocities than a determined settling velocity. The model was calibrated using available experimental pressure and temperature data. Finally, as well-mixed conditions are strongly desirable for effective anaerobic digestion, proposals to reduce the volume of dead zones are suggested and discussed.