Calibration of the hydraulic model of a full-scale activated sludge plant

When planning to simulate a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with the activated sludge model N degrees 1 (ASM1), one of the first requirements is to determine the hydraulic model of the reactor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hydrodynamic regime of the aeration tank of a municipal WWTP by using a rhodamine tracer test and the Aquasim simulation software. A pre-simulation was performed in order to quantify the appropriate colorant mass, set up a sampling plan and evaluate the anticipated visual impact of the tracer test in the river receiving the treated effluents. A tracer test and dynamic flow measurements were carried out, the results of which served to establish and calibrate the hydraulic model. The evaluated tank was physically built as a plug-flow reactor subdivided in 7 compartments, but the study revealed that it is best represented by a model with 5 virtual mixed reactors in series. Through the study, the approach of using a WWTP simulator for hydraulics calibration was shown to be a powerful and flexible tool for designing a tracer test and for identifying adequate tank-in-series models of full-scale activated sludge aeration tanks.