Uncertainties of spectral in situ measurements in wastewater using different calibration approaches

Three calibration methods were applied to UV/VIS spectra recorded in the influent of six wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to measure total COD (CODtot), filtered COD (CODfil), nitrate and nitrite nitrogen (NO(x)-N) and total suspended solids (TSS). It could be shown that a calibration of the sensor using data sets from four Swiss WWTPs leads to an improvement of the precision in comparison to the global calibration provided by the manufacturer. A calibration to the specific wastewater matrix always improves the results and gives the highest accuracy. For CODtot a mean coefficient of variation CVx of 12.5% could be reached, whereas for NOx-N only weak results were achieved (average CVx = 36%).