-The IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) was chosen to simulate a two-stage anaerobic digestion lab-scale plant treating domestic wastewater. Initially, the model was preliminary tested using synthetic wastewater. The simulation results were satisfactorily compared to NH 4 + and chemical oxygen demand (COD) data for the first and second stages, respectively. A transformation method was then applied to estimate from the domestic wastewater composition the input variables to the ADM1. After proper calibration and further validation, the model was able to successfully predict the COD degradation from a varying influent, showing its practical applicability. Finally, a standalone application based on the validated model was developed to be used for monitoring purposes at the treatment plant. The developed application is suitable for direct implementation at a full-scale plant without the need of additional software or specialized assistance.

The unwanted inclusions in food and beverages pose a threat to both consumer health and the business, including producer image and liability. Detection of such inclusions, in particular metal and glass particles of millimetre size, is an important element of quality control in such industries. Specific solutions usually are limited in their detection range or are investment and space intensive. The presented project investigates a principally new detection method for foreign particles in fluid media of different densities and transparencies. Proof of concept is provided for the important case of glass containers, but the method is applicable to other materials.

In the presented work the basis of a novel method for detecting foreign solid inclusions in closed glass bottles and cans containing liquid food are presented. The new method is based on an automatic recording and analysis of multi‐contact oscillatory signals of the food‐container‐particle (F‐C‐P) system. In this work, two different active mechanisms for positioning the foreign particles next to the wall of the bottle are studied and relevant numerical simulations are presented. In the first case, a bottle filled with water moves linearly with constant acceleration, while in the second case the bottle rotates around its longitudinal axis at a constant angular velocity. The obtained numerical results permit the selection of optimal locations for the detection system components. (© 2009 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)