Development and application in Aspen Plus of a process simulation model for the anaerobic digestion of vinasses in UASB reactors: Hydrodynamics and biochemical reactions

•UASB model fitted well with real data from laboratory, pilot and industrial scales.•The reactor fails for values of SO4-2/COD ratio higher than 0.1.•A negative relationship between biogas production and granule size was obtained.•Hydrodynamic study showed a non-ideal dispersed flow in the reactor.•The model could be used for predicting UASB performance during vinasses treatment.