title: Tracking the inorganic suspended solids through biological treatment units of wastewater treatment plants.
abstract: From an experimental and theoretical investigation of the continuity of influent inorganic suspended solids (ISS) along the links connecting the primary settling tank (PST), fully aerobic or N removal activated sludge (AS) and anaerobic and aerobic digestion (AerD) unit operations, it was found that (i) the influent wastewater (fixed) ISS concentration is conserved through primary sludge anaerobic digestion, and AS and AerD unit operations. However, the measured ISS flux at different stages through a series of WWTP unit operations is not equal to the influent ISS flux because the ordinary heterotrophic organisms (OHO) biomass contributes to the ISS flux by differing amounts depending on the OHO (active) fraction of the VSS solids at that stage.
authors.affiliation: Water Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape, South Africa. ekama@ebe.uct.ac.za
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ekama
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wentzel
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Sötemann
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical