A Friendly-Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM) for studying biological processes in wastewater treatment processes
Abstract
Biological processes for wastewater treatments are inherently dynamic systems because of the large variations in the influent wastewater flow rate, concentration composition and the adaptive behavior of the involved microorganisms. Moreover, the sludge retention time (SRT) is a critical factor to understand the bioreactor performances when changes in the influent or in the operation conditions take place. Since SRT are usually in the range of 10-30 days, the performance of biological reactors needs a long time to be monitored in a regular laboratory demonstration, limiting the knowledge that can be obtained in the experimental lab practice. In order to overcome this lack, mathematical models and computer simulations are useful tools to describe biochemical processes and predict the overall performance of bioreactors under different working operation conditions and variations of the inlet wastewater composition. The mathematical solution of the model could be difficult as numerous biochemical processes can be considered. Additionally, biological reactors description (mass balance, etc.) needs models represented by partial or/and ordinary differential equations associated to algebraic expressions, that require complex computational codes to obtain the numerical solutions. Different kind of software for mathematical modeling can be used, from large degree of freedom simulators capable of free models definition (as AQUASIM), to closed predefined model structure programs (as BIOWIN). The first ones usually require long learning curves, whereas the second ones could be excessively rigid for specific wastewater treatment systems. As alternative, we present Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM), a MATLAB code for the simulation of sequencing batch reactors (SBR) and rotating biological contactors (RBC) as biological systems of suspended and attached biomass for wastewater treatment, respectively. This BioReSIM allows the evaluation of simple and complex kinetic biological models, as well as operational conditions of the bioreactors through a friendly and graphic user interface, avoiding the development of complex codes.
Keywords
References
Lant, P.A., Emmett, D. (2001). Using the World Wide Web to revolutionise technology transfer and training in the water and wastewater industries. Water Science and Technology, 44(2–3), pp. 127–134.
Morgenroth E., Arvin E., Vanrolleghem P. (2002). The use of mathematical models in teaching wastewater treatment engineering. Water Science and Technology, 45(6), pp. 229-233
Henze, M., Grady, C., Gujer, W., Marais, G., and Matsuo, T. (1986). Activated sludge model no. 1. Scientificc and Technical Report 1, IAWPRC Task Group on Mathematical Modelling for Design and Operation of Biological Wastewater Treatment Processes, IAWPRC, London.
Henze H., Gujer W., Mino T. and. v. Loosdrecht M. (2000). Activated Sludge Models ASM1, ASM2, ASM2d, and ASM3. IWA Task Group on Mathematical Modelling for Design and Operation of Biological Wastewater Treatment.
Poltack, R. F. (2005). Sequencing Batch Reactor Design and Operational Considerations. NEW ENGLAND INTERSTATE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL COMMISSION. The Environmental Outreach Group New England and New York Regional 104(g) Workgroup.
Fernández I., Suárez-Ojeda M. E., Pérez J., Carrera J. (2013). Aerobic biodegradation of a mixture of monosubstituted phenols in a sequencing batch reactor. Journal of Hazardous Materials,. 260(15) pp. 563–568.
Pathwardan A. W. (2003) Rotating biological contactors: a review, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 42, pp. 2035-2051.
Pariente M. I., Siles J. A., Molina R., Botas J. A., Melero J. A., Martinez F. (2013). Treatment of an agrochemical wastewater by integration of heterogeneous catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation and rotating biological contactors, Chemical Engineering Journal, 226, pp. 409-415.
v. Schulthess R., Gujer W. (1996). Release of nitrous oxide (N2O) from denitrifying activated sludge: Verification and application of a mathematical model,Water Research, 30(3), pp. 521-530.
Saltelli, A., Tarantola, S., Campolongo, F. and Ratto, M. (2004). Sensitivity analysis in practice. A guide to assessing scientific models. In: Probability and Statistics Series. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.
Reichter P. (1998). AQUASIM 2.0. User Manual. Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG), Duebendorf, Switzerland.
Mannina G., Cosenza A., Viviani G., Vanrolleghem P. A., Neumann M. B. (2012). Global sensitivity analysis for urban water quality modelling: comparison of different methods. 9th International Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling Belgrade.
Sirianuntapiboon S., Jeeyachok N., Larplai R. (2005). Sequencing batch reactor biofilm system for treatment of milk industry wastewater. Journal of Environmental Management, 76(2), pp. 177–183.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
The texts published in this journal, unless otherwise indicated, are subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivativeWorks 3.0.Spain licence. They may be copied, distributed and broadcast provided that the author and the journal that publishes them, @tic. revista d'innovació educativa, are cited. Commercial use and derivative works are not permitted. The full licence can be consulted on Creative Commons
Editor: Servei de Formació Permanent i Innovació Educativa. Tel. 0034 961625030 | Fax. 0034 961625032 | Valencia. España
ISSN: 1989-3477 | Depósito Legal: V5051-2008
Indexed in:
Consortial Journals
