Modeling the fate of organic nitrogen during anaerobic digestion: Development of a bioaccessibility based ADM1

Abstract: Simulating the fate of nitrogen during anaerobic digestion is required to predict the characteristics of digestates and to improve their exploitation for agricultural uses. The aim of this study was to develop a modified ADM1 model that includes bioaccessibility-based fractionation to accurately simulate the fate of nitrogen during anaerobic digestion. To this end, two complementary approaches were used: (i) changes in the bioaccessibility of protein and non-protein compounds were assessed on eight substrates during anaerobic digestion in batch experiments using the “EPS” fractionation method; (ii) experimental results were used to develop a bio-kinetic model based on anaerobic digestion model n°1. This new model incorporates bioaccessibility-based fractionation in its input state variables. The model was successfully calibrated and model evaluation showed that predicted methane production, ammonium production and changes in protein and non-protein bioaccessibility during anaerobic digestion were accurate.