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A comprehensive model for the kraft pulping kinetics of Eucalyptus saligna hardwood is presented. Kinetic parameters were estimated by fitting the model to available experimental data taken from the literature over a range of process variables. The model takes into account the effect of hydroxide and sulfide concentration in the liquor as well as the temperature-time history of the cooking. Model predictions were successfully compared with an independent set of bench-scale plant data for lignin and carbohydrate dissolution. The model is able to predict quite well the trends of the process variables.

This article presents a summary of the main findings from a collaborative research project between Aalto University in Finland and partner universities. A comparative process synthesis, modelling and thermal assessment was conducted for the production of Bio-synthetic natural gas (SNG) and hydrogen from supercritical water refining of a lipid extracted algae feedstock integrated with onsite heat and power generation. The developed reactor models for product gas composition, yield and thermal demand were validated and showed conformity with reported experimental results, and the balance of plant units were designed based on established technologies or state-of-the-art pilot operations. The poly-generative cases illustrated the thermo-chemical constraints and design trade-offs presented by key process parameters such as plant organic throughput, supercritical water refining temperature, nature of desirable coproducts, downstream indirect production and heat recovery scenarios. The evaluated cases favoring hydrogen production at 5 wt. % solid content and 600 • C conversion temperature allowed higher gross syngas and CHP production. However, mainly due to the higher utility demands the net syngas production remained lower compared to the cases favoring BioSNG production. The latter case, at 450 • C reactor temperature, 18 wt. % solid content and presence of downstream indirect production recorded 66.5%, 66.2% and 57.2% energetic, fuel-equivalent and exergetic efficiencies respectively.

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It is a well known fact that the AI planning community is very committed to apply the developments already achieved in this area to real complex applications. However realistic planning problems bring great challenges not only for the designers during design processes but also for the automated planners during the planning process itself. In addition, it is quite common to face issues about whether the available planners will be up to solve the problem being modeled during the initial design stages. In this paper we present the experience, results and issues that emerged from testing the performance of the recent planners when solving a real and complex problem such as the planning of daily activities of a petroleum plant for docking, storing and distributing oil. Due to the complexity of this real planning problem, the KE tool itSIMPLE was used in order to support all the design processes such as specification, modeling and domain model analysis that resulted in a PDDL model, automatically generated by the tool, which was used as input for planners. In addition, we present the main modeling process performed for the domain model construction.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are complex systems that incorporate a large number of biological, physicochemical and biochemical processes. They are large and nonlinear systems subject to great disturbances in incoming loads. The primary goal of a WWTP is to reduce pollutants and the second goal is disturbance rejection, in order to obtain good effluent quality. Modeling and computer simulations are key tools in the achievement of these two goals. They are essential to describe, predict and control the complicated interactions of the processes. Numerous control techniques (algorithms) and control strategies (structures) have been suggested to regulate WWTP; however, it is difficult to make a discerning performance evaluation due to the nonuniformity of the simulated plants used. The main objective of this paper is to present a benchmark of an entire biological wastewater treatment plant in order to evaluate, through simulations, different control techniques. This benchmark plays the role of an activated sludge process used for removal of organic matter and nitrogen from domestic effluents. The development of this simulator is based on models widely accepted by the international community and is implemented in Matlab/Simulink (The MathWorks, Inc.) platform. The benchmark considers plant layout and the effects of influent characteristics. It also includes a test protocol for analyzing the open and closed-loop responses of the plant. Examples of control applications in the benchmark are implemented employing conventional PI controllers. The following common control strategies are tested: dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration-based control, respirometry-based control and nitrate concentration-based control

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