Wastewater treatment by means of thermophilic aerobic membrane reactors: respirometric tests and numerical models for the determination of stoichiometric/kinetic parameters.

Existing wastewater/aqueous waste treatment plants often need to be upgraded in order to improve their performance. The satisfactory operation of biological treatment plants requires appropriate monitoring, and respirometric techniques are needed to determine the kinetic parameters that regulate biological processes. Innovative technologies are treating industrial wastewater/aqueous waste, such as thermophilic aerobic treatments. Thermophilic aerobic biological systems operate at temperatures higher than 45°C. Such temperature levels can be reached, at a reasonable cost, using wastewater with a high organic loading and reactors, which are appropriately thermally insulated. This kind of treatment shows high removal kinetics of biodegradable substrates and a very low sludge production. This paper describes the application of respirometric tests in thermophilic conditions on the biomass derived from a thermophilic aerobic membrane reactor in order to model the process, with a particular focus on the rapidly biodegradable chemical oxygen demand (rbCOD). The utility of rbCOD determination is related to the optimal treatment that the aqueous waste should undergo. Calculating the kinetic parameters is critical to the biological modelling used in the management and control of wastewater treatment plants.