Self-consistent liquid-to-gas mass transfer calculations

This work develops an alternative gas transfer calculation method to the two methods currently used in anaerobic digestion modelling. The current calculation methods are problematic because one is computationally stiff, while the other introduces an artificial overpressure. The new approach began by noting that the gas partial pressures are the same as the partial flows at the liquid/gas interface, and then used the self-consistency requirement to develop gas pressure equations which were used by a search algorithm. The new approach took about three iterations to achieve a flow precision better than 2 x 10(-7) mol h(-1) l(-1), and was self-consistent and stable even when working with eight gases. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.