Revista de Ingeniería

revinge | eISSN 2011-0049 | ISSN 0121-4993

CFD Simulation of an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR) to Treat Industrial Wastewater

No. 42 (2015-01-01)
  • Laura C. Zuluaga
    (1) B. S. in Chemical Engineering and Undergraduate Student in Environmental Engineering, University of Los Andes, Department of Chemical Engineering, Product and Process Design Group (GDPP). Department of Environmental Engineering, Center for Research in Environmental Engineering (CIIA). Bogota, Colombia. lc.zuluaga345@uniandes.edu.co
  • Luz N. Naranjo
    (2) B. S. in Chemical Engineering and Undergraduate Student in Environmental Engineering, University of Los Andes, Department of Chemical Engineering, Product and Process Design Group (GDPP). Department of Environmental Engineering, Center for Research in Environmental Engineering (CIIA). Bogota, Colombia. ln.naranjo2222@uniandes.edu.co
  • Jan Svojitka
    (3) Ph. D, Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Muttenz, Switzerland. jan.svojitka@fhnw.ch
  • Thomas Wintgens
    (4) Ph. D, Professor, Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Muttenz, Switzerland. thomas.wintgens@fhnw.ch
  • Manuel Rodríguez
    (5) Ph. D, M. Sc., Associated Professor, University of Los Andes, Department of Environmental Engineering, Center for Research in Environmental Engineering (CIIA). Bogota, Colombia. manuel-r@uniandes.edu.co
  • Nicolas Ratkovich
    (6) Ph. D, M. Sc., Assistant Professor, University of Los Andes, Department of Chemical Engineering, Product and Process Design Group (GDPP). Bogota, Colombia. n.rios262@uniandes.edu.co
https://doi.org/10.16924/riua.v0i42.702

Abstract

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation has been developed for an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR) to treat industrial wastewater. As the process consists of a side-stream MBR, two separate simulations were created: (i) reactor and (ii) membrane. Different cases were conducted for each one, so the surrounding temperature and the total suspended solids (TSS) concentration were checked. For the reactor, the most important aspects to consider were the dead zones and the mixing, whereas for the ceramic membrane, it was the shear stress over the membrane surface. Results show that the reactor’s mixing process was adequate and that the membrane presented higher shear stress in the ‘triangular’ channel.

Keywords: Anaerobic, CFD, heat transfer, MBR, TSS concentration