AbstractAdaptive non‐linear controller designs for various controlled variables are evaluated for the operation of the anaerobic digestion process. The selected controlled variables are the chemical oxygen demand (COD), propionate concentration and dissolved hydrogen concentration. The manipulated variable is the dilution rate. Because the non‐linear control algorithms are designed on the basis of the mass balance equations, distinct assumptions have to be made depending on the choice of the controlled variable. For each selected controlled variable the linearizing control design based on a reduced‐order model of the process results in a similar controller structure. Although the obtained responses are model‐specific, the methodology presented can be readily applied to an actual laboratory‐ or industrial‐scale bioreactor. Study of the time response of the volatile fatty acids and dissolved hydrogen concentrations and of the methane flow rate obtained by controlling one variable at a time reveals the intrinsic behaviour of the balances between the assumed bacterial species and can be useful to investigate for instance the inhibition induced by a given product present in the reactor. The developed methodology demonstrates the usefulness of advanced control techniques to get a better understanding of the process under study even if the controller designs are based on incomplet
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