| An attempt was made to calibrate a steady state activated sludge model (ASM2d) for the biological nutrient removal process at the Gold bar wastewater treatment plant. This calibrated model could be used on a regular basis to test various operational strategies and predict effluent quality under different scenario. To achieve this historic data from the plant database was collected based on 24 composite samples. A trial and error method of wastewater characterization of the primary effluent was attempted using the influent advisor module of the GPS-[X] software. Sensitivity analysis of kinetic parameters was carried out and the most important ones identified were calibrated (default values were modified) based on literature. After calibration it was observed that the model was overestimating the concentrations of carbonaceous biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids and orthophosphate in the effluent, compared to the actual value measured at the plant. Similarly the effluent ammonia concentration was underestimated for most days along with the nitrate and nitrite concentration. This clearly indicated the need for a more accurate calibration based on experimental data to improve prediction capabilities and the reliability of the model. |
