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Modelling and simulation of food waste bio-drying.
Ani Lawrance1, Mani Veera Santhoshi Gollapalli1, S Savithri2
1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, 620 015, Tamil Nadu, India.
Chemosphere
|January 22, 2022
Summary
Bio-drying of food waste effectively removes moisture and produces refuse-derived fuel (RDF). A new model accurately predicts key variables like temperature and moisture during this waste utilization process.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Waste Management
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Bio-drying is an aerobic treatment for food waste, enabling moisture removal and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production.
- Optimizing bio-drying requires understanding process mechanisms and key variable interactions for efficient water removal.
- Waste utilization as an energy source is crucial for sustainable waste management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a first-principles model for predicting key variables in food waste bio-drying.
- To simulate the bio-drying process using mass and energy balances and process kinetics.
- To validate the model's predictions against pilot-scale experimental data and literature.
Main Methods:
- Developed mass and energy balance equations based on first principles.
- Incorporated process kinetics to predict variations in degradable matter, moisture, oxygen, and temperature.
- Simulated the model using Simulink software in MATLAB R2020b for a three-layer waste pile.
- Compared simulation outputs with pilot-scale experimental data and literature data.
Main Results:
- The developed model accurately predicted the performance of the bio-drying process.
- Simulation results showed good agreement with experimental data from a pilot-scale plant.
- The model successfully predicted variations in key variables such as moisture and temperature.
Conclusions:
- The first-principles model provides a reliable tool for predicting bio-drying performance.
- The model aids in optimizing parameters for enhanced water removal and RDF production.
- This approach supports efficient waste utilization and energy recovery from food waste.
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