THE IMPACT OF MICROBIOLOGICAL TOOLS ON MATHEMATICAL-MODELING OF BIOLOGICAL WASTE-WATER TREATMENT

Biological systems are being used to treat an increasing range of comp lex wastes; domestic and industrial wastewaters containing nutrients a nd refractory organic compounds, soil sites and groundwater contaminat ed by organics, and organic solid residues. These treatment processes rely on micro-organisms and, more than ever before, must deliver highe r quality outcomes at higher levels of reliability to protect the envi ronment. At the same time, pressures to deliver cost-effective treatme nt have increased. The challenge for these biological treatment techno logies and the associated engineering is to achieve the environmental and economic goals simultaneously. Mathematical modelling is an essent ial component in developing a detailed understanding of such processes , as well as design guidelines and suitable operating and control stra tegies. This paper provides a brief summary of the development of math ematical models for biological waste treatment systems, why they have become increasingly complex and how certain microbiological tools can provide the experimental means to validate more complex segregated and structured models of biological behaviour. With a number of specific modelling examples in the field of wastewater treatment, we illustrate the potential of these modern microbiological tools and their implica tions for gaining an improved understanding of biological waste treatm ent. (C) 1997 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.