Evaluation of Activated Sludge Model No. 2 at high phosphorus concentrations

This paper presents laboratory scale experimentation carried out to study enhanced biological phosphorus removal at high phosphorus concentrations in a sequencing batch reactor. Four series of data obtained in a sequencing batch reactor are examined in light of the Activated Sludge Model No. 2. This model was calibrated using data from the first and second series working at low phosphorus concentrations. The Activated Sludge Model No. 2 successfully characterised the enhanced biological phosphorus removal performance of the sequencing batch reactor at low phosphorus concentrations. The calibrated model was then used to adjust experimental results of the other series working at high phosphorus concentration. Differences between model predictions and experimental data could be explained by redissolution in the anaerobic phase and precipitation in the aerobic phase of calcium phosphates not taken into account by the model. This hypothesis can be justified by the conditions of pH and phosphorus concentration prevailing in the experiments and it was confirmed by the results of another experiment in which precipitated phosphorus profile was measured during the cycle.