A model of the redox measurement in aerated activated sludge

Abstract

A number of investigations have shown that pH, oxygen concentration, and the organic load affect the measured redox potential in aerated activated sludge. In this investigation, a model of the redox measurement is proposed. It is a kinetic model based on the necessary balance between the number of electrons accepted by and donated to a metal electrode in the sludge. The potential changes in order to maintain this balance. The model variables are pH, oxygen concentration, temperature and the activity of reduced compounds. Data from a wastewater treatment plant is analyzed using this model and it is shown that the model can be fitted to results from other published investigations. However we cannot as yet demonstrate a correlation between the activity of reduced compounds and the organic load on the sludge. The ultimate objective of this work is to extract more information from the redox measurement. This is a practical interest because the redox measurement is inexpensive and requires little maintenance.