Importance of heat transfer in an anaerobic digestion plant in a continental climate context.

Investigation on the sensivity to temperature variations has been achieved on a full-scale experimental dairy wastewater treatment plant including an unheated but insulated upflow anaerobic sludge blanket. A simple steady-state heat transfer model based on energy balance has been designed to forecast the biogas production depending on ambient air and dairy wastewater temperatures variations. Energy balance has been described for any part of the digestion plant.