title: Hurdles in the investigation of influent fractionation for measurement campaigns under diluted wastewater conditions.
abstract: Evaluating the performance of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) requires a good characterization of the biodegradable substrate entering the plant. As is generally acknowledged, the wastewater characteristics under rain or storm weather conditions vary significantly from dry weather conditions but this is rarely accounted for in modelling exercises. In order to address this defect, a measurement campaign was set up and samples were analysed using respirometric assays. In this paper, some hurdles regarding measurement campaigns under dilute wastewater conditions and a better exploration of the impact of using respirometric assays are described and discussed. The dependence of the heterotrophic yield on different substrates severely hampers the evaluation of the respirograms under dilute wastewater conditions. In addition, the low load conditions limit the application of the assays due to insufficient sensitivity of the experiment and uncontrolled oxygen inputs. The results clearly demonstrate the need for further research in order to allow for a proper evaluation of WWTP performance under rain and storm weather conditions.
authors.affiliation: BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium E-mail: youri.amerlinck@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Youri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amerlinck
authors.affiliation: BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium E-mail: youri.amerlinck@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanassche
authors.affiliation: BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium E-mail: youri.amerlinck@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Versluys
authors.affiliation: BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium E-mail: youri.amerlinck@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Ingmar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nopens
mesh_terms: D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D011891:Rain; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D018505:Waste Management / Q000592:standards*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater