Dynamic simulations of waste water treatment plant operation

Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM1) was used to model the biological stage of an actual waste water treatment plant (WWTP). Some possibilities for the utilisation of simulation programs for WWTP operation are presented. Simulation calculations were performed taking the conditions of WWTP in Nove Zamky, the Slovak Republic, into consideration, where measurements of the diurnal variations in waste water flow and composition at the inlet and outlet were carried out. A calibrated model predicting the influence of changes in the waste water composition and the operational parameters on the effluent waste water quality and related operational costs is available. Values of the operational parameters (solids retention time, internal recirculation flow, dissolved oxygen concentration) for effective operation (effluent concentration values, oxygen consumption, charges, i.e. charges for waste water discharge into the recipient water body) of the WWTP were obtained by simulations. The presented results are for illustration purposes only and are not intended as instructions for the operation of a waste water treatment plant. They correspond to the calibrated mathematical model ASM1 based on the results of experimental measurements and operational data, as well as on the technical and monitoring level of the WWTP. (C) 2011 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences