Anaerobic Digestion (AD) has become the preferred path to neutralize manures and organic wastes since energy and fertilizer can be obtained from this process. Currently, Europe has over 18,425 biogas plants in operation, Germany leads with 11,269 plants, while countries like Ireland (31 plants) are lagging behind in this technology. Ireland is considered the EU member state with the best potential to exploit biogas due to its large agricultural sector. Typical cattle farms in Ireland range from 50 to 99 cattle in beef farms and an average of 63 dairy cows per farm. For small farmers, the concrete fixed dome anaerobic digesters utilized in Europe are not feasible from an economic point of view, therefore other AD technologies such as the greenhouse tubular geomembrane digesters should be adapted to Ireland’s climate conditions. The greenhouse tubular geomembrane digester (Figure 1) consists of a partially buried geomembrane black vessel that is in contact with the soil (or has insulation), the non-buried portion is in contact with the greenhouse’s air, and the greenhouse has insulated walls and a transparent roof to allow solar radiation. To evaluate the best configuration and insulation to keep the temperature in optimal condi tions for anaerobic microorganisms, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) open-source software OpenFOAM will be utilized. CFD utilizes numerical methods to convert partial differential equations that govern a physical phenomenon into a system of algebraic equations, allowing the study of fluids and how the fluid’s flow behavior may affect the process, including heat transfer and chemical reactions. Investigating the heat transfer between the surrounding environment and the digester, between the fluid and the gas phase inside the digester, as well as the heat dissipation in the fluid phase will result in the best configuration of an optimal greenhouse tubular geomembrane digester for European climate.
Requirements:
- Knowledge in fluid dynamics and modeling of physical/chemical processes
- Knowledge of CFD software (preferably OpenFoam)
- Interest in the field of bio-reactors
- Good English skills
Further Information:
- Immediate start
Interested?