EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A SIMULATION AND DESIGN-MODEL FOR NITROGENREMOVAL IN SEQUENCING BATCH REACTORS

The development and the sensitivity analysis of a dynamic SBR simulati on model for biological nitrogen removal based on the Activated Sludge Model N.1, are presented. An experimental study for the calibration a nd validation of the model was carried out using a bench scale SBR Pig gery wastewater was used as feed. The operating daily cycle of the SBR reactor included three sub-cycles of 7.5 hours each, each one alterna ting anoxic and aerobic condition, while settling phase was carried ou t at the end of the three sub-cycles. A first enhancement of model N.1 was performed splitting nitrification into the two sub-processes of n itritation and nitratation. A second enhancement of the model was obta ined with the introduction of a switch function of nitratation kinetic s. An algorithm for optimization of the cycle length and phase distrib ution in order to minimize effluent nitrogen concentration was develop ed. A design procedure of SBR systems is also described. Copyright (C) 1996 IAWQ.