On Simplified Model for Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Process and Simulation Based on Benchmark

Abstract

Because of the complex structure and the numerous parameters of existing models for the activated sludge wastewater treatment process (WWTP), there are great difficulties to directly apply the models in simulation systems. In order to enhance the practicality of the models for the WWTP, a simplified model is developed based on the activated sludge model No. 1 (ASM1), which is the most widely studied model and published by the International Water Association (IWA). The simplified model is suitable for describing the process of carbon removal in the plug-flow activated sludge WWTP. It has a much simpler structure and less time cost in simulation. To validate the effectiveness fairly, the simplified model is applied based on the benchmark. The benchmark is a standard platform-independent simulation environment proposed by IWA defining a plant layout, a simulation model, influent data, test protocols and evaluation criteria. The simplified model replaces the ASM1 to describe the biological-chemical reactions of the reactors in the benchmark plant. The simulation result is closed to the test data using three different weather files and demonstrates the precision of the simplified model.