A Comprehensive View of the ASM1 Dynamic Model: Study on a Practical Case

Abstract

The ASM1 model was elaborated by the IWA Task Group for Mathematical Modelling, with the aim of explaining and predicting the output values of organic matter concentration in activated sludge processes, especially for domestic wastewaters. In recent years, ASM1 has been completed with new components and extended to other biological processes, including biological membrane reactors, activated carbon filters, and microalgae bioreactors. In this article, the essentials of this model are studied by outlining the original topics that were formulated in the model, and by using a practical example of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which can clarify the application of the ASM1. A protocol of approximation between the dynamic model and the experimental data for the COD effluent concentration is presented, based on three steps of tuning and fine tuning, and the corrected values of the kinetic parameters YH and μH,max are calculated in accordance with the minimum error. In the simulation procedure, the baseline and dynamism are controlled, comparing them to the experimental data line, and the values obtained for the kinetic parameters are YH = 0.60 and μH,max = 0.40 d−1. The kinetic parameters reflect the activity of the mixed community of microorganisms in the WWTP.