KMS platform: A complete tool for modeling chemical and biochemical reactors

Abstract

Computer-based activities to study chemical kinetic principles have been widely used in engineering education for the last 60 years. These academic tools must be user-friendly for teachers and students and easy to adapt to practical cases. The Chemical and Environmental Engineering Group (GIQA) at University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) has developed a Kinetic, Modeling and Simulation (KMS) platform for chemical and biochemical processes. The KMS platform provides different simulation applications programmed in Matlab® with a friendly interface design environment for users. In this work, we will focus on the Kinetics in Conventional Activated Sludge (KCAS) application, as part of the KMS platform. The design of kinetic models and the dynamic simulation of wastewater treatment plants are typically implemented by a variety of dedicated software, mostly developed for research and development purposes at universities, institutes or consulting companies. These programming tools have inherent weaknesses as simulators in virtual laboratories for academics, needing steep learning curves and lacking flexibility to evaluate complex problems, particularly in bachelor degrees programs that are not completely devoted to the mathematical modeling of processes. The simplicity and versatility of KCAS simulator make it very useful for students as starting educational tool to define kinetic models and to make the dynamic simulation of a conventional activated sludge reactor followed by a secondary decanter using different inlet streams or operation conditions. The students interact with the program through a friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI), and the results can be easily exported to a conventional spreadsheet in EXCEL© format files. With KCAS, the students can formulate kinetic models (potential models, diffusional models, Monod equations, etc.) to simulate the evolution from simple reaction systems, to complex biochemical models such as ASM (Activated Sludge Models) from the International Water Association (IWA). The KCAS simulator allows the students to enhance the understanding of complex interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological processes, reinforcing the acquisition of competences and learning skills in Environmental Engineering. The KCAS application was implemented as laboratory demonstration practice in subjects of different Engineering Degrees at URJC.