Wat. Res. Vol. 33, No. 14, pp.

3127±3141, 1999
# 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
PII: S0043-1354(99)00033-0 0043-1354/99/$ - see front matter

www.elsevier.com/locate/watres

STOICHIOMETRIC AND KINETIC MODEL PARAMETERS

FOR MICROBIAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF SUSPENDED
SOLIDS IN COMBINED SEWER SYSTEMS
JES VOLLERTSEN**
M
and THORKILD HVITVED-JACOBSEN*
M

Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Aalborg University, Sohngaardsholmsvej 57, 9000 Aalborg,

Denmark

(First received June 1998; accepted in revised form January 1999)

AbstractÐBiotransformation of wastewater particles with di€erent settling velocities has been investi-
gated based on analysis of long term oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements and a conceptual model
describing aerobic transformations of organic matter has been used for interpretation. No signi®cant
changes in the biodegradability of wastewater particles with di€erent settling velocities were found. In
this respect wastewater particles di€ered from earlier ®ndings for sewer sediments. Methods for determi-
nation of model parameters describing aerobic heterotrophic biomass growth and wastewater substrate
transformations have been derived and values estimated by adding readily biodegradable substrate to
wastewater particles and sewer sediments. The validity of modeling results was subsequently tested. The
model was capable of predicting biomass growth for long term measurements correctly and to simulate
the OUR satisfactorily, however, peaks in OUR were dicult to simulate, probably because of a simpli-
®ed description of hydrolysis used in the concept. Generally, it can be recommended to use OUR
measurements, interpreted by a conceptual model describing aerobic transformations of organic matter,
as a valuable methodology for characterization of wastewater particles as well as suspended sewer sedi-
ments in terms of COD-fractions and related biotransformations. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved

Key wordsÐsewers, wastewater particles, combined sewer sediments, microbial transformations, hetero-
trophic biomass, yield constant, maintenance energy requirement, maximum growth rate, hydrolysis,
oxygen uptake rate

NOMENCLATURE vs settling velocity (mm sÿ1)

DSO,growth SO used for growth of XB (g O2 mÿ3)
DSO,maint SO used for maintenance energy requirements
of XB (g O2 mÿ3)
DSS,growth SS used for growth of XB (g COD mÿ3)
DSS,m,ad SS used for maintenance energy requirements
of XB originating from SS,added (g COD mÿ3)
DSS,maint SS used for maintenance energy requirements
of XB (g COD mÿ3)
DSS,prod SS produced from hydrolysis of XS# (g
COD mÿ3)
DSS,stored SS stored (g COD mÿ3)
DXB,growth change in XB due to growth
mH maximum speci®c growth rate (dÿ1)
kh# hydrolysis rate constant (dÿ1)
kinitial initial hydrolysis rate constant (dÿ1)
KS saturation constant for SS (g COD mÿ3)
KX# saturation constant for hydrolysis (g COD/g
COD)
OUR(t) oxygen uptake rate at time t (g O2 mÿ3 hÿ1)
qm maintenance energy requirement rate constant
(dÿ1)
SO dissolved oxygen concentration (g O2 mÿ3)
SS readily biodegradable substrate (g COD mÿ3)
SS,added added SS (g COD mÿ3)
t time (h)
*Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
[Tel.: +45-693-58080; Fax: +45-98-142555].
3127
XS# hydrolyzable substrate (g COD mÿ3)
XS,fast fast hydrolyzable substrate (g COD mÿ3)
XS,medium medium hydrolyzable substrate (g COD mÿ3)
XS,slow slow hydrolyzable substrate (g COD mÿ3)
XB heterotrophic active biomass (g COD mÿ3)
YH yield constant for XB (g COD/g COD)
# 1, 2 and 3 (fraction of hydrolyzable substrate)
INTRODUCTION
Sediments in combined sewer systems include or-
ganic and inorganic particles originating from
urban surfaces as well as industries and households.
Deposition, resuspension and transport of waste-
water particles depend on structural conditions in
the catchment and sewer systems as well as charac-
teristics of the particles involved.
During combined sewer over¯ows (CSO's) into
receiving waters, the discharged particles which con-
sist of resuspended sewer sediments and wastewater
particles play an important role on the quality of
the receiving waters. In order to assess biological
impacts from CSO's, knowledge on the microbial
transformations of the discharged organic matter is
3128 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen
needed. For this purpose gross characterization of
the organic matter in terms of e.g. BOD and COD
gives only a corresponding gross impact assessment.
A more detailed characterization in terms of or-
ganic matter transformation processes, and division
of organic matter into fractions with di€erent mi-
crobial properties, allows for a more detailed evalu-
ation of e€ects upon receiving waters. Vollertsen
and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998) and Vollertsen et al.
(1998) presented and applied a model addressing
biotransformations of resuspended combined sewer
sediments. They showed that sub-dividing COD of
particles settling with di€erent velocities gave valu-
able, potential information for CSO impact assess-
ments. A similar concept for wastewater
transformations has been presented and im-
plemented by Bjerre et al. (1995, 1998). They
addressed transformations in terms of wastewater
biodegradability during transport with respect to
the subsequent advanced treatment and important
knowledge regarding the in¯uence of sewer systems
upon wastewater quality was gained.
The concept used for characterization of both
sewer sediments and wastewater particles in this
study is the concept presented for sewer sediments
by Vollertsen and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998) and
Vollertsen et al. (1998). The concept describing
aerobic transformations of organic matter includes
growth of heterotrophic biomass (XB), maintenance
energy requirements of XB and hydrolysis of 3 par-
ticulate substrate fractions (XS#) into readily biode-
gradable substrate (SS). In this study, stoichiometric
and kinetic parameters are related to the model
concept and estimated from oxygen uptake rates
(OUR) measured by addition of SS to aerobic sus-
pended particles. The validity of the model used for
interpretation of aerobic microbial transformations
of particles in suspension is examined based on ad-
dition of readily biodegradable substrate.
Earlier investigations of aerobic biodegradability
of sewer sediments in suspension (Vollertsen et al.,
1998) are compared with results from this investi-
gation. The particles being used in this study were
sampled in an upstream part of an intercepting
sewer where no extensive deposition occurred.
Hence, such particles are possible contributors to
the formation of sewer sediments at downstream-
located shallow parts of a sewer system.
METHODS
Sampling and sample preparation
Wastewater particles were sampled in Frejlev, Denmark,
at the Frejlev Research and Monitoring Station
(Schaarup-Jensen et al., 1998). Frejlev has a combined
sewer system, 2000 inhabitants with no signi®cant industry
and a reduced (impermeable) area of approximately 30 ha.
As the catchment is situated on a hillside, with the highest
part approximately 40 m above the Research and
Monitoring Station, the slope of the sewer system is gener-
ally high and no substantial deposition of sediment occurs
in the catchment. In the Frejlev Research and Monitoring
Station, the wastewater pipe is divided into modules that
are accessible from all sides.
During sampling, the intercepting sewer pipe in the
monitoring station was opened so that large quantities of
wastewater ¯owed out. Wastewater was collected with
buckets and transferred into a 120 litre cylindrical tank.
When the tank was full, the wastewater was settled for
30 min and subsequently decanted. The settled wastewater
was transported to the laboratory were it was fed into the
top of a settling column and fractionated in settling vel-
ocity intervals. The settling column was made from a
190 mm inner diameter Plexiglas pipe with a length of
2 m. At the bottom of the column there was a 658 cone
and a valve. Tap water was chosen as ¯uid medium in the
settling column. Four fractions of particles were with-
drawn at the bottom valve corresponding to settling vel-
ocities (vs) down to 1 mm/s.
Sewer sediments were collected with a sewer sediment
shovel from three adjacent manholes in a combined collec-
tor sewer in the city of Aalborg, Denmark. The sewer is a
1000 mm diameter concrete pipe placed in a residential
area. The sewer serves approximately 20 households
upstream of the sampling locations.
Total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS) of the sedi-
ment and wastewater particle fractions were determined
according to Standard Methods (1995).
Oxygen uptake rate measurement and simulation
Oxygen uptake rates (OURs) were determined in a
series of 6 stainless steel batch reactors each with a volume
of 2.2 litres in which particles were suspended in tap
water, Fig. 1. The reactors were kept at 2020.58C by cir-
culating water through a cap enclosing approximately
30% of the apparatus surface areas. Initial experiments
with sewer sediments in suspension showed that ammonia
and phosphorus were not limiting the oxygen uptake rate.
Magnetic stirrers kept the particles in suspension.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) was measured in the suspension
using INGOLD oxygen sensors with 12 mm diameter
Te¯on membranes. When the DO concentration was
below 60% of saturation, an aeration cycle started by
blowing compressed air into the suspension for a pre-set
time interval and by opening the closing piston to the
expansion chamber. After end of aeration, the piston was
closed with a pre-set time delay to ensure that no air
bubbles were left in the suspension. A computer logged
DO concentrations vs time. OURs were calculated from
these measurements by linear regressions on DO concen-
tration vs time measurements.
The OUR measurements were interpreted by simulation
with a conceptual model describing aerobic biodegradation
of resuspended sewer sediments presented by Vollertsen
and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998) and Vollertsen et al. (1998),
Table 1. The concept originates from the understanding of
organic matter transformations proposed by the authors
of the Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (Henze et al., 1987).
The main di€erences between this concept and the one
used in this study are that 3 fractions of hydrolyzable or-
ganic substrate are introduced and that decay of biomass
into a hydrolyzable substrate and inert particulate organic
matter is omitted and maintenance energy requirement of
the heterotrophic biomass introduced.
Readily biodegradable organic matter was added as
sodium acetate for determination of stoichiometric and
kinetic model parameters.
The stoichiometric 5 6 matrix representing components
and processes is multiplied by the process rates, Table 1.
The cells in the matrix are referred to in matrix notation
as, for example, 1,6-entry=(1ÿYH)/YH. The di€erential
equation corresponding hereto is
 Sewer solids parameters 3129

Fig. 1. OUR measuring equipment. Up to 6 devices were operated in parallel and temperature controlled by the same
water circulation.

@ …ÿSO,growth † dSO,growth 1 ÿ YH SS
 ˆ mH XB :
@t dt YH KS ‡ SS
The minus sign in component No. 6 of the matrix was
introduced for mass balance reasons, as oxygen consump-
tion is equivalent to negative COD. In the following the
minus sign will be omitted and oxygen consumption con-
sidered positive. For model simulation the coupled di€er-
ential equations corresponding to the matrix are written in
®nite-di€erence form and solved explicitly.
DERIVATION OF EXPRESSIONS FOR PARAMETERS
When using models for interpretation of exper-
imental results, as few model parameters as possible
should generally be found based on series of simu-
lated results, i.e. by varying parameters for cali-
bration of the model until the best agreement is
accomplished. Larsen (1997) de®ned the degree of
complexity in a deterministic model as the number
of model parameters to be found by calibration. He
showed that an increase in model complexity in
water quality models will result in an increase in
model accuracy during calibration. However, above
an optimum complexity the accuracy of the model
validation will decrease. In order to overcome this
problem, as many parameters as possible should be
determined explicitly. As any model parameter
depends on the theoretical concept in which it
exists, it must be derived consistently with the the-
ory, i.e. a model parameter must not be found by
means of one model concept and used in a di€erent
concept without adaptation of the parameter to the
new concept. This statement is considered import-
ant, however, often not followed.
As a consequence, parameters determined based
on, for example, the activated sludge model concept
(e.g. Henze et al., 1987, 1995; Kappeler and Gujer,
1992; Barker and Dold, 1997) cannot directly be
used in this study. For example, values of maximum
speci®c growth rates will, when calculated based on
the activated sludge model presented by Kappeler
and Gujer (1992), be higher than when calculated
based on this model.
Expressions for kinetic and stoichiometric par-
ameters in the present concept for sewer solids bio-
transformations can be derived from the coupled
di€erential equations in Table 1. In practice several

Table 1. Model concept, process kinetics and stoichiometry for microbial transformations of suspended sewer solids under DO non-limit-
ing conditions. Symbols are explained in the Nomenclature

i Process Component j

1 (SS) 2 (XS1) 3 (XS2) 4 (XS3) 5 (XB) 6 (ÿSO) Process rate

1 aerobic growth ÿ1/YH 1 (1ÿYH)/YH mH(SS/(KS+SS)XB

2 maintenance energy requirement ÿ1 ÿ1a 1 qmXB
3 hydrolysis, fast 1 ÿ1 kh1((XS1/XB)/(KX1+XS1/XB))XB
4 hydrolysis, medium 1 ÿ1 kh2((XS2/XB)/(KX2+XS2/XB))XB
5 hydrolysis, slow 1 ÿ1 kh3((XS3/XB)/(KX3+XS3/XB))XB

a
If SS is insucient, the remaining COD for maintenance energy requirement is taken from the biomass (endogenous respiration).
3130 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen
model parameters can be determined explicitly from
well-designed experiments and under well-de®ned
conditions. Expressions for maximum speci®c
growth rate (mH), saturation constant for SS (KS),
yield constant for XB (YH) and maintenance energy
requirement rate (qm) are in the following derived
and estimated from addition of SS to suspensions
of wastewater particles and sewer sediments.
Addition of SS will result in changed growth con-
ditions for the heterotrophic biomass. This is what
allows for biomass properties to be deducted.
However, changed growth conditions might favor
micro-organisms which were not favored prior to
addition, resulting in a change in relative biomass
composition. The consequence hereof might be a
change in biomass properties during substrate non-
limited growth. To minimize this risk, the induced
period of non-limited growth of biomass has to be
kept as short as possible.
Derivation of expression for the yield constant, YH
In the carbon transformation part of the
Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (Henze et al., 1987),
which in contrast to the present concept operates
with decay of heterotrophic biomass and without
maintenance energy requirement, it is suggested to
determine the yield constant of the heterotrophic
biomass in activated sludge based on batch tests
with ®ltrates of wastewater and acclimated sludge.
In the activated sludge concept, the yield constant
then can be calculated by noticing that cell COD
equals total COD minus soluble COD. This
approach is not feasible with the present concept,
as this method does not distinguish between SS
used for growth and for maintenance purposes
without biomass growth. Based on a concept imple-
menting endogenous respiration, Sollfrank (1988)
calculated the yield constant from OUR measure-
ments of activated sludge to which ®ltered waste-
water was added. He found YH as the di€erence
between removed COD and the extra oxygen con-
sumption due to the COD addition until the OUR
reached the level it had before addition divided by
the removed COD. These two methodologies di€er
to some extent from what can be deducted from the
present concept. Hence, the values found using
those methodologies and model concepts cannot
DXB,growth SS,added ‡ DSS,prod ‡ DSS,stored ÿ DSO,growth ÿ DSO,maint
YH ˆ ÿ ˆÿ ÿ

DSS,growth ÿ SS,added ‡ DSS,prod ‡ DSS,maint ‡ DSS,stored
directly be compared to the values found in this
work.
Vollertsen and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998) calcu-
lated the yield constant from OUR measurements
of resuspended sewer sediments by addition of
readily biodegradable substrates using the same
model concept as used in this study. The method-
ology of SS addition is chosen as the most promis-
ing method for determination of YH.
The yield constant is the only stoichiometric par-
ameter used in the model concept, Table 1. It
accounts for the fact that when growth of biomass
occurs, some SS will be used as carbon source to
form new biomass and some will be used to pro-
duce energy for the growth process. SS will, further-
more, be used as energy source to maintain the
existing biomass, a process with no biomass yield.
In the model concept, YH is at any time interval the
ratio between produced heterotrophic biomass
(DXB,growth), the 1,5-entry in Table 1, and SS used
for growth purposes, i.e. (DSS,growth), the 1,1-entry,
equation (1).
dXB,growth DXB,growth
YH ˆ ÿ ÿ …1†
dSS,growth DSS,growth
If SS is added to an OUR experiment, YH can be
calculated by a mass balance based on DO con-
sumption and SS utilization as follows (Table 1,
equation (1)): DXB,growth can be determined by mass
balance from the process row 1. However, exper-
imentally known components are total DO con-
sumed and total SS consumed. Hence, it is
necessary to add process row 2 in order to include
all DO and SS consuming processes. The mass bal-
ance can in matrix notation be expressed as: 1,5-
entry=ÿ(entries 1,1+2,1+1,6+2,6) and, hence:
ÿ
DXB,growth ˆ ÿ DSS,growth ‡ DSS,maint ‡ DSO,growth


‡ DSO,maint …2†
Furthermore, the sum of added SS (SS,added), hy-
drolysis products (DSS,prod) (entries 3,1+4,1+5,1),
DSS,growth, DSS,maint and stored SS (SS,stored) must
equal zero:
SS,added ‡ DSS,prod ‡ DSS,growth ‡ DSS,maint
‡ DSS,stored
ˆ0 …3†
Substituting equation (3) into equation (2), isolating
DSS,growth from equation (3) and substituting these
two equations into equation (1), a general equation
for determination of YH based on addition of SS
can be derived:
…4†
equation (4) cannot be solved readily since
DSS,maint, DSO,maint, DSO,growth, DSS,prod and
SS,stored cannot be directly determined. However, if
SS is added when no growth or decay of biomass
take place, DSS,prod is used only for maintenance of
the biomass at the time of SS addition. If DSS,prod
either depends on XB in the ®rst order or is inde-
pendent of XB, equation (4) can be simpli®ed. The
 Sewer solids parameters
®rst situation takes place when XS# is large com-
pared to XB so that the hydrolysis process rates
approaches ®rst order in XB. In this case
DSS,prod+DSS,maint=0 for the whole period where
SS,added is consumed as an increased XB precisely
will hydrolyze the extra amount of SS,maint needed.
The second situation takes place when XB is large
compared to XS# so that the hydrolysis process
rates approaches ®rst order in XS#. In this case the
DSS,prod will be constant during the period where
SS,added is consumed and, as XB increases, insu-
cient to meet the demands for SS,maint. The de®cit
in SS,maint, SS,m,ad, will come from the only other
source of SS, namely SS,added. Therefore,
DSS,prod+DSS,m,ad+DSS,maint=0.
Furthermore, SS,stored is assumed to be zero
because biomass anity to SS is expected
unchanged and it is noticed that
DSS,maint+DSO,maint=0. Equation (4) simpli®es to
equation (5) when hydrolysis approaches ®rst order
in XB and equation (6) when hydrolysis approaches
®rst order in XS#. It should also be mentioned that
YH will remain in the interval between the upper
value determined by equation (5) and the lower
value determined by equation (6) when hydrolysis
neither approaches ®rst order in XB nor in XS#.
DSS,added ÿ DSO,growth
YH ˆ …
DSS,added
DSS,added ÿ DSS,m,ad ÿ DSO,growth
YH ˆ …
DSS,added ÿ DSS,m,ad
Fig. 2. OUR response to addition of acetate after long term aerobic transformation of sewer sediments.
3131
equations (5) and (6) are operational, as the
involved compounds can be determined directly. An
example of an experiment allowing for the determi-
nation of YH under the above mentioned conditions
and restrictions is shown in Fig. 2. Under these
conditions, the level of OUR before addition equals
dSO,maint/dt and the level immediately after addition
equals dSO,maint/dt+dSO,growth/dt due to the shift
from SS being available just to equal maintenance
energy requirements to SS allowing substrate non-
limited growth. When the added SS is consumed,
OUR again shifts to a level equal to dSO,maint/dt.
This new level is higher than the ®rst level as the
biomass and, hence, their maintenance energy
requirement was increased. DSO,maint and DSO,growth
can therefore be found as the areas indicated in
Fig. 2. The line drawn between the two levels of
dSO,maint/dt is an approximation as the exact func-
tion is qmXB and XB increases exponentially during
the growth period.
For determination of YH by equation (6),
DSS,m,ad can be found recalling that DSO,maint came
from a constant production of SS,prod plus a supply
taken from SS,added. Therefore, at the time of ad-
dition dSS,m,ad/dt is zero and when SS,added is used
up, dSS,m,ad/dt is the di€erence in dSS,maint/dt
5†
before addition and after SS,added is consumed.
Hence, as dSS,m,ad=dSO,m,ad and dSS,maint=
dSO,maint, DSS,m,ad equals the area indicated in
6†
Fig. 2.
3132 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen

Derivation of expressions for the maximum speci®c The saturation constant for readily degradable
growth rate, mH, and the saturation constant, KS organic substrate (KS) can be found by comparing
the measured and simulated slopes of the decrease
The maximum speci®c growth rate (mH) can, as
in OUR when the added SS is almost consumed
shown by Kappeler and Gujer (1992) for a model
(Kappeler and Gujer, 1992), Fig. 2.
concept describing heterotrophic growth, endogen-
ous respiration and hydrolysis, be obtained from
the increase in OUR during substrate non-limited
growth. For the concept presented in this study, mH Derivation of expression for the maintenance energy
can be derived noticing that the respiration rate in requirement rate constant, qm
a batch experiment is the sum of the 1,6 and 2,6- When no growth or decay of biomass occurs, all
entries multiplied by their respective process rates DO consumed is used for maintenance energy
Table 1 and that under substrate non-limited requirement of the biomass, that is the 2,6-entry
growth SS/(KS+SS)31, equation (7). multiplied with the respective process rate, equation
(10). This situation occurs when dSS,maint/dt is
dSO,growth dSO,maint balanced by dSS,prod/dt.
OUR…t† ˆ ‡
dt dt
  OUR…t0 † ˆ qm XB …t0 † …10†
1 ÿ YH SS
ˆ mH ‡ qm XB If SS in this situation is added in a concentration
YH KS ‡ SS
  corresponding to substrate non-limited growth,
1 ÿ YH OUR increases from OUR(t0) to OUR(t0+Dt) due
 mH ‡ qm XB …7†
YH to increased DO requirements of the biomass pro-
duced. Again SS/(KS+SS)31 and, hence, the 2,6
The change in biomass concentration is the 1,5- and 1,6-entries multiplied with there respective pro-
entry multiplied by the respective process rate: cess rates yields:
dXB OUR…t0 ‡ Dt†
ˆm H XB which can be integrated to:
dt
…1 ÿ YH †
XB …t† ˆ XB …t0 †emH …tÿt0 † …8† ˆ mH XB …t0 ‡ Dt† ‡ qm XB …t0 ‡ Dt† …11†
YH
Substituting equation (8) into equation (7) and If Dt is small, the biomass concentration at time t is
comparing OUR(t) during non-limited growth with approximately equal to the biomass concentration
the initial respiration rate [OUR(t0)] gives: at time t+Dt. qm can then be determined by divid-
ing equation (11) with equation (10):
OUR…t†
ˆ emH …tÿt0 † , OUR…t0 ‡ Dt† ……1 ÿ YH †=YH †mH
OUR…t0 † ˆ ‡1,
  …9† OUR…t0 † qm
OUR…t† …12†
ln ˆ mH …t ÿ t0 † ……1 ÿ YH †=YH †mH
OUR…t0 † qm ˆ
……OUR…t0 ‡ Dt†=OUR…t0 †† ÿ 1
equation (9) represents a straight line with mH as
slope. In Fig. 3 values calculated using equation (9) Alternatively, qm can be calculated based on the
are plotted for an OUR response of wastewater whole period during which the SS added is utilized.
The DO uptake due to maintenance energy require-
particles to acetate addition.
ments from time t0 to t1 is generally (2,6 entry mul-
tiplied with the respective process rate):
dSO,maint
ˆ qm XB …t† ,
dt
… t1 …13†
DSO,maint ˆ qm XB …t† dt
t0

and DO uptake due to growth under substrate non-

limited conditions is (1,6 entry multiplied with the
respective process rate):
dSO,growth 1 ÿ YH
ˆ mH XB …t† ,
dt YH
… t1 …14†
1 ÿ YH
DSO,growth ˆ mH XB …t† dt
YH t0
Fig. 3. Plot of the natural logarithm of the relative OUR,
same experiment as in Fig. 2. Combining equations (13) and (14) gives:
 Sewer solids parameters 3133

DSO,maint ……1 ÿ YH †=YH †mH

qm ˆ …
DSO,growth
Experimentally, DSO,maint and DSO,growth are
assumed to be the areas shown in Fig. 2 under the
conditions mentioned where the increase in DO
requirement for maintenance arises from the model
stating that the biomass increases during growth. A
straight line approximates the exponential increase
in biomass as a relative low increase in XB during
the growth period has taken place. The two
methods are mathematically equivalent, however,
the ®rst method is based on single values whereas
the second method is based on average values of
the DO consumed for growth and maintenance pur-
poses.
ESTIMATION OF PARAMETERS
Kinetic and stoichiometric parameters were esti-
mated for both wastewater particles and sewer sedi-
ment in suspension. The wastewater particles had
an average organic content of 64% and were visu-
ally observed to be constituted primarily of paper,
i.e. cellulose. The sewer sediment particles where
primarily inorganic with an average organic matter
content of 1.9%. Acetate was added as readily bio-
degradable substrate (SS) in 27 experiments of
which 16 were conducted on wastewater particles
and 11 on sewer sediment particles. Acetate was
15† chosen as substrate as it is known to be readily
degradable under aerobic conditions and because
VFA is frequently available in relatively high con-
centrations in sewer systems (e.g. Raunkjñr et al.,
1995).
When sewer sediment particles were investigated,
the increases in OUR after acetate additions were
exponential in all cases and, hence, in agreement
with the model prediction (Table 1 and equation
(9)). Wastewater particles behaved otherwise in
most cases. The OUR increases di€ered more or
less from the predicted exponential behavior [Fig.
4(c) and (d)]. This a€ects the validity of the growth
rate expression of the concept, however, not the
stoichiometry. The stoichiometric constants, i.e. the
yield constants, are thus estimated for all 27
measurements whereas most experiments with
wastewater particles are disregarded when estimat-
ing kinetic parameters.
Estimation of yield constants, YH
In the beginning of an OUR experiment, SS uti-
lized for growth and maintenance of the biomass
will typically originate from initially present SS and
from hydrolysis products. After some period of
time, production of SS via hydrolysis will decrease
to a level insucient for sustaining growth and only
the maintenance energy requirement of the biomass
will be covered. If the concentration of readily bio-

Fig. 4. Plot of the natural logarithm of the relative OUR during acetate addition to suspended sewer sediments and
wastewater particles using equation (9). (A) Sediments (c) 05.09.97; (B) sediments 11.08.97; (C) particles 13.10.
2rvs>1 mm sÿ1; (D) particles 20.08. 2rvs>1 mm sÿ1.
 3134

Table 2. Stoichiometric and kinetic parameters originating from experiments with addition of SS to OUR measurements with suspended sewer sediments and wastewater particles in settling velocity (vs) intervals

Sample VS Timea Added SS YH, equation (5) YH, equation (6) KS mH qm, equation (12) qm, equation Increaseb
(%) (h) (g COD mÿ3) (g COD g CODÿ1) (g COD g CODÿ1) (g COD mÿ3) (dÿ1) (dÿ1) (15) (dÿ1) (%)

21.07.97, vsr10 mm sÿ1 59 336 281 0.66 0.64 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 251

21.07.97, 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 69 336 76 0.66 0.63 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 164
21.07.97, 5>vsr2 mm sÿ1 74 336 73 0.69 0.67 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 191
21.07.97, 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1 72 336 20 0.75 0.74 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 109
11.08.97, vsr10 mm sÿ1 45 164 39 0.68 0.64 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 171
11.08.97, 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 51 164 30 0.74 0.72 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 222
11.08.97, 5>vsr2 mm sÿ1 64 164 22 0.77 0.75 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 265
11.08.97, 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1 60 164 18 0.62 0.59 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 268
20.08.97, vsr10 mm sÿ1 1.3 144 29 0.63 0.60 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 161
20.08.97, 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 71 144 30 0.69 0.66 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 180
20.08.97, 5>vsrmm sÿ1 73 144 31 0.69 0.67 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 176
20.08.97, 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1 68 144 32 0.66 0.63 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 178
13.10.97, vsr10 mm sÿ1 79 98 77 0.70 0.70 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 183
13.10.97, 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 82 98 59 0.70 0.70 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 195
13.10.97, 5>vsr2 mm sÿ1 83 98 76 0.72 0.72 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 187
13.10.97, 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1 77 98 40 0.65 0.62 1.0 1.6 0.82 0.88 218
14.07.97, sediments 3.5 166 27 0.64 0.63 0.63 2.8 2.1 2.0 179
21.07.97, sediments 1.3 336 37 0.67 0.64 0.1 1.8 6.1 1.3 116
11.08.97, sediments 1.6 164 23 0.72 0.71 1.3 6.1 1.8 2.2 237
05.09.97, sediments (a) 1.3 139 36 0.62 0.60 0.3 2.7 4.3 1.6 142
05.09.97, sediments (b) 1.1 139 37 0.59 0.57 0.3 2.3 2.8 1.6 163
05.09.97, sediments (c) 1.4 139 37 0.62 0.59 0.6 2.5 2.7 1.6 164
Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen

05.09.97, sediments (d) 1.4 139 34 0.72 0.70 0.6 2.0 1.6 1.2 156
05.09.97, sediments (e) 0.9 139 32 0.58 0.56 0.6 4.6 3.8 2.3 199
05.09.97, sediments (f) 3.2 139 34 0.63 0.61 0.7 5.2 1.4 1.4 328
13.10.97, sediments (a) 2.6 98 58 0.63 0.62 1.5 4.1 1.5 1.4 268
13.10.97, sediments (b) 2.6 98 55 0.62 0.61 1.3 4.2 1.7 1.6 259

a
Time of addition of SS, hours from start of the OUR experiment.
b
Relative increase in OUR due to SS addition.
 Sewer solids parameters
degradable substrate produced by hydrolysis is
insucient for maintaining all the biomass, part of
the biomass will be respired endogenously. If the
concentration of hydrolyzable substrates is not lim-
iting the hydrolysis, OUR will become stable in
time. If SS is added under such conditions, equation
(5), or equation (6), is valid for calculation of YH.
For the samples analyzed in this and in previous
studies (Vollertsen and Hvitved-Jacobsen, 1998;
Vollertsen et al., 1998), OUR typically stabilizes
after 100±200 h; i.e. the decrease in OUR becomes
less than 5±10% per day, which is considered su-
ciently accurate in this respect. Of equations (5) and
(6), equation (5) implies that the OUR will continue
steady due to the new maintenance energy require-
ment of the increased, stable biomass as hydrolyz-
able organic matter is not limiting. Equation (6),
however, implies that the biomass is reduced
through endogenous respiration as formulated in
Table 1, 2,5-entry, until the level before the addition
of SS is reached, as the hydrolysis in this case is
expected independent of the biomass.
In the experiments conducted, the OUR did not
continue to be constant at an increased level after
the added SS was consumed. OUR decreased rela-
tively fast to the level observed before addition
(Fig. 2 and Fig. 6). Hence, equation (6) is expected
to agree with the experimental results and therefore
results in the most correct determination of YH.
The average value of YH for the 27 determi-
nations was found by equation (5) to be 0.67 g
COD g CODÿ1 (standard deviation 0.05 g COD g
CODÿ1) and by equation (6) to be 0.65 g COD g
CODÿ1 (standard deviation 0.05 g COD g CODÿ1)
(Table 2). However, comparison of the average YH
value for wastewater particles with sewer sediment
particles showed that the wastewater particles had a
signi®cantly higher average yield constant than the
sewer sediment particles. The average yield constant
of wastewater particles equation (6) was 0.67 with a
standard deviation of 0.05 g COD g CODÿ1
whereas YH for sewer sediment particles was 0.62
with a standard deviation of 0.05 g COD g CODÿ1.
No correlation between YH and added SS was
found.
Vollertsen and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998) found
0.70 g COD g CODÿ1 using the same methodology
for resuspended sewer sediments and beer as sub-
strate. For wastewater with original SS, Bjerre et al.
(1995) found 0.64 g COD g CODÿ1, however, they
used a slightly di€erent model under di€erent
growth conditions. The values found in the actual
study seem in general agreement with these ®nd-
ings.
Estimation of maximum speci®c growth rates, mH,
and saturation constants, KS
When adding readily biodegradable organic mat-
ter to wastewater particles only 1 out of 16 cases
agreed with the prediction of the model. In 15 cases
3135
the shape of the normalized natural logarithm to
the OUR was more or less convex and, hence, the
apparent growth rate of XB decreased during sub-
strate non-limiting conditions [Fig. 4(d)]. However,
all 11 experiments where SS was added to sewer
sediment particles followed what was predicted; i.e.
the speci®c growth rate was constant when SS was
non-limiting [Fig. 4(a) and (b)]. In all cases the
increase in OUR after addition of SS occurred so
fast that it was measured as a discrete increase. The
relative increase due to addition of SS did not di€er
signi®cantly between wastewater particles and sewer
sediment particles. On average the OUR increased
to 197% (standard deviation 51%) of the OUR
prior to addition. Furthermore, the velocity of
decrease in OUR due to SS becoming growth limit-
ing was not di€erent for wastewater particles and
sewer sediment particles.
The growth rate for the 12 experiments which
where in agreement with the model concept was in
average 3.3 dÿ1 with a standard deviation of
1.5 dÿ1, Table 2. These values correspond with the
wide range of what other investigators found for
wastewater and activated sludge (e.g. Ekama et al.,
1986; Sollfrank, 1988; Bjerre et al., 1995).
The saturation constant was determined from SS
addition experiments where the growth term could
be validated, Table 2. The value of KS governs
OUR when readily biodegradable substrate limi-
tation is increasing. Therefore, KS was found by
simulation of this part of the OUR measurement;
e.g. simulation of the time interval 165±169 h in
Fig. 2. On average KS was found to be 0.7 g
COD mÿ3 with a standard deviation of 0.5 g
COD mÿ3. Using the same method for activated
sludge with wastewater as substrate Kappeler and
Gujer (1992) found KS between 2.5 and 4.0 g
COD mÿ3. Bjerre et al. (1998) found for wastewater
with natural substrate KS to be 1 g COD mÿ3.
Estimation of maintenance energy requirement rate
constants, qm
For the 12 experiments (one on wastewater par-
ticles and eleven on sewer sediment particles) where
exponential growth was observed, the maintenance
rate constant, qm, was determined using equations
(12) and (15). As discussed previously these
equations are valid when XB is constant in time,
which from a model point of view was expected to
be the case for addition of SS. According to the
previous discussion concerning YH, the yield con-
stant used in the equations was calculated by
equation (6). Equations (12) and (15) are math-
ematically equivalent, however, the second method
is expected to give the best experimental results as
it is based on average values of the DO consumed
for growth and maintenance purposes where the
®rst method is based on single OUR values.
The average ®ndings using equation (12) was
qm=2.6 dÿ1 with a standard deviation of 1.5 dÿ1
3136 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen

where as equation (15) gave qm=1.6 dÿ1 with a
standard deviation of 0.4 dÿ1. The two mean values
found by the two methods were di€erent at a 6%
signi®cance level.
These results correspond with the ®ndings of
Tempest and Neijssel (1984) who for a glycerol lim-
ited chemostat culture of K. Aerogenes growing at
378C at high K+ concentrations found that the
maintenance energy requirement rate constant, qm,
was 1.2 mmol O2 hÿ1 (g dry weight cells)ÿ1. This
approximately equals 0.6 g O2 dÿ1 (g COD
biomass)ÿ1. Furthermore, they observed that qm
could be signi®cantly higher if there were other sub-
strate limitations than carbon. For example low
K+ concentrations corresponded to a qm of 1.1 dÿ1,
ammonia limitation to a qm of 3.6 dÿ1 and phos-
phate limitation to a qm of 6.1 dÿ1.
Correlations between estimated parameters
Deterministic models like the one presented often
have more parameters than mathematically su-
cient for describing the measurements which in-
terpretations they are used for. Therefore,
correlations between some of the parameters might
exist. Testing the hypothesis that qm calculated
from equation (15) was linear correlated with mH
gave a probability of 3% of being wrong conclud-
ing that the correlation was qm=0.17
mH+0.88,
Fig. 5. However, the data were not conclusive with
regard to the linear relationship being the optimal
relation between qm and mH. When testing if qm cal-
culated from equation (12) was linear correlated
with mH, no signi®cant correlation was found.
Neither was qm calculated from equation (15) found
to correlate with YH nor mH with YH, Fig. 5.
Simulation of OUR measurements
If the model concept Table 1 is consistent it will
be possible to simulate an actual OUR measure-
ment a€ected by addition of SS with parameters
found for the same experiment. To test this hypoth-
esis and hereby validate the consistency of the
model approach, an optimum simulation of the
measured OUR's until the time of SS addition were
performed for those experiments where the model
growth term was found to be valid, using the corre-
sponding sets of parameters determined, Table 2.
An optimum simulation was done varying kh#, KX#
and initial values of XS#, XB and SS were found by
an iterative procedure using a least square method-
ology. When an optimum simulation was reached,
this simulation was extended to include the sub-
sequent addition of SS, Fig. 6.
The biomass concentration is the key component
in the model as XB is part of all rate equations in
the model, Table 1. The capability of the model to

Fig. 5. Correlations between parameters. qm was determined using both equations (12) and (15). The yield was deter-
mined based on equation (6). The only signi®cant correlation which was found was that qm calculated from equation
(15) was correlated with mH.
 Sewer solids parameters 3137

Fig. 6. Simulations of OUR measurements with addition of SS to suspended particles after 100±140 h of aeration. The
simulations were performed with the parameters calculated and shown in Table 2. The hydrolysis parameters and initial
concentrations of components were found by optimal simulation of the OUR measurements before addition of SS took
place. Heavy line: measurement; ®ne line: simulation. (A) Wastewater particles 13.10. 2rvs>1 mm sÿ1; (B) sediment par-
ticles (d) 05.09; (C) sediment particles (b) 05.09.

determine changes of XB in time is therefore essen-
tial for the validity of the concept. Comparing
model prediction of biomass concentration at the
time of SS addition with the calculated biomass
concentration found through isolation of XB from
equation (11), the average predicted XB for the 12
experiments was found to 1.04 (standard deviation
0.21) times the calculated XB. In Fig. 6, three of the
twelve simulations are shown. The predicted OUR
after the added SS was consumed was often higher
than the measured OUR. The OUR's were seen to
decrease during the ®rst 6±24 h until they leveled
out at OUR's close to the rates before additions.
According to the model concept and simulations
these decreases were due to dSS,prod/dt being insu-
cient to support the maintenance energy require-
ments of the new, higher concentrations of biomass
and, hence, biomass was endogenously degraded
(entry 2,5 in Table 1) until the original balances
between dSS,prod/dt and dSS,maint/dt were re-estab-
lished.
Transfer of model parameters between and within
concepts
When simulating OUR measurements with a con-
cept as the one presented considerations should be
carefully taken when transferring parameters from
one simulation to another. If an OUR measurement
is simulated with one set of stoichiometric and kin-
etic parameters including determined initial concen-
trations of COD components and hydrolysis
parameters, another set of stoichiometric and kin-
etic parameters may not be introduced without
determining new hydrolysis parameters and initial
concentrations of components. To illustrate this, an
example of using the average parameters found in
this study together with the hydrolysis parameters
and COD components found in one simulation is
shown, Fig. 7. The main simulation problem in this
example relates to qm whereas YH and mH are less
critical. The reason is that the model concept
implies OUR to be constant in time only when no
change in biomass concentration occurs and hence
the rate of hydrolysis must equal the maintenance
energy requirement of the biomass. For example, if
qm is large, the rate of hydrolysis also must be large
in order to support this higher maintenance energy
requirement.
Alternatively, the measurements are simulated
with a model using decay of biomass as suggested
in the Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (Henze et al.,
1987) with a decay rate 0.07 times mH, an associated
production of inert particles of 10% of the biomass
degraded and no maintenance energy requirement.
3138 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen
Fig. 7. Simulation of the OUR measurement from September 5, 1997 (d) with stoichiometric and kinetic parameters
determined from the SS addition of the same experiment, Table 2. The parameters qm, mH and YH were changed from
the calibration values to the average ®ndings of this study.
Under such conditions a reasonable prediction of
the biomass is not possible. Comparing calculated
and modeled biomass the model prediction of XB
was 5±15 times the biomass calculated from
equation (11). The reason for this is that the model
parameters selected allows far too high biomass
growth. Increasing the decay rate to, unrealistic,
levels as high as approximately 0.5 times mH actu-
ally allows the Activated Sludge Model No. 1 con-
cept to be validated too. Vollertsen and Hvitved-
Jacobsen (1998) found similar results.
These examples show that great care has to be
taken when transferring parameter values from one
context to another. Not only is the transfer of par-
ameters from one model concept to another proble-
matic, but also transfer of parameters determined
under di€erent conditions and based on the same
concept is dicult. Before a parameter can be gen-
erally implemented, the complete context from
which it is taken, and to which it is brought, has to
be known and analyzed.
BIODEGRADABILITY OF PARTICLES IN WASTEWATER
Because some parameters in the concept are not
independent, one set of parameters should be cho-
sen for all simulations when comparing samples
with di€erent initial concentrations of organic mat-
ter. As the distribution of COD fractions of waste-
water particles related to settling velocity (vs)
intervals found in this study will be compared with
each other as well as corresponding results from
sewer sediments (Vollertsen et al., 1998), it seems
feasible to use the same parameters as Vollertsen et
al. (1998). This is acceptable as the parameters gen-
erally are in good agreement with the ®ndings of
this study although originating from a di€erent site.
Vollertsen et al. (1998) used mH=5.0 dÿ1, KS=1.0 g
COD mÿ3, qm=0.5 dÿ1 and YH=0.55 g COD g
CODÿ1 for the simulation of aerobic microbial
transformations of suspended sewer sediments.
The average composition of the COD fractions
for the four vs fractions into which the wastewater
particles were divided did not di€er signi®cantly,
Table 3. In Table 3 the average values and the stan-
dard deviations are shown. As an average of all vs
intervals, 76.5% of the organic matter of the par-
ticles was slowly hydrolyzable, 15.6% medium
hydrolyzable, 4.5% fast hydrolyzable or readily bio-
degradable and 3.4% was biomass. Corresponding
values for sewer sediment particles found by
Vollertsen et al. (1998) were 81.6, 10.8, 4.4 and
3.2%, respectively, and the average aerobic biode-
gradability of wastewater particles and suspended
sewer sediments was therefore very much identical.
Vollertsen et al. (1998) de®ned the initial hydroly-
sis rate of the hydrolyzable organic matter per unit
of biomass as kinitial=kh#(XS/XB)/(KX#+(XS/XB))
and showed that this parameter was a good esti-
mate for the rate with which the di€erent fractions
of hydrolyzable organic matter were hydrolysed.
The reason for this was partly that kinitial had small
variability compared with kh# and KX# and partly
that kh# and KX# were strongly correlated.
For the three fractions settling slower than
10 mm sÿ1, the average kinitial values found for med-
ium hydrolyzable organic matter were signi®cantly
higher then for slowly hydrolyzable organic matter.
For the fraction settling faster than 10 mm sÿ1,
however, the di€erence in kinitial between the two
COD fractions was not signi®cant, Table 4.
Comparing initial hydrolysis rates between the vs
intervals showed no signi®cant di€erences between
the kinitial's. The only exception was for the fraction
XS,slow between the two intervals 10>vsr5 and
2>vsr1 mm sÿ1. It seems therefore reasonable to
conclude that the organic matter in terms of COD
fractions associated with the di€erent vs intervals
 Sewer solids parameters 3139

Table 3. Average composition of organic matter for wastewater particles distributed within the four groups of settling velocities. The
numbers in brackets are standard deviations

vsr10 mm sÿ1 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 5>vsr2 mm sÿ1 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1

XB (% of total COD) 4.5 (4.4) 3.2 (1.9) 4.3 (2.3) 5.9 (2.6)
XS,slow (% of total COD) 75.8 (12.3) 84.2 (6.2) 79.7 (6.4) 66.3 (14.8)
XS,medium (% of total COD) 15.0 (9.7) 10.1 (4.3) 13.3 (5.0) 24.2 (14.7)
XS,fast+SS (% of total COD) 4.8 (3.0) 2.5 (0.9) 2.7 (1.2) 3.6 (1.3)

did not di€er with respect to the rate with which it CONCLUDING REMARKS

is hydrolyzed. During the ®rst 6±32 h, OUR for wastewater par-

The average values found for suspended sewer
sediments reported by Vollertsen et al. (1998) are
shown in Table 4. The largest di€erences in initial
rates between those ®ndings and what is here pre-
sented are related to the fast hydrolyzable organic
matter, as kinitial is three times higher for waste-
water particles than for suspended sewer sediments.
Between kinitial-values for slow and medium hydro-
lyzable matters no di€erence, or only a minor
di€erence, could be observed.
In Fig. 8 the di€erent concentrations of COD
fractions are grouped with respect to the vs intervals
in which they were found. In no case was the
increase or decrease of COD concentrations signi®-
cant, although di€erences were observed. Vollertsen
et al. (1998) found for di€erent settling velocity
intervals of suspended sewer sediments that concen-
tration of biomass, fast and medium hydrolyzable
organic matter increased signi®cantly with decreas-
ing settling velocity and that slowly hydrolyzable
organic matter concentration decreased.
The results obtained by Vollertsen et al. (1998)
indicate that the biodegradability of wastewater
particles di€ers from the biodegradability of sewer
sediments. However, no signi®cant di€erence in bio-
degradability of wastewater organic matter associ-
ated with the four settling velocity intervals for the
particles investigated were seen. One main di€erence
is that suspended sewer sediments are reported to
be more readily degradable in the slower settling
than in the faster settling parts whereas this ten-
dency was not found for wastewater particles. The
other main di€erence is that the fast hydrolyzable
COD compounds in wastewater particles are hydro-
lyzed three times faster than the corresponding
compounds in sewer sediments.
ticles and suspended sewer sediments decreased
typically to about half the initial rates. This
decrease could generally be well simulated as the
e€ect of an initial amount of fast hydrolyzable or-
ganic matter. Initial decrease in OUR was followed
by an increase resulting in an OUR peak typically
at the same level as the initial rate and about 24±
72 h after start of the experiment. Similar peaks
have been reported for suspended sewer sediments
by Vollertsen et al. (1998). As argued by Vollertsen
et al. (1998) such peaks are not well simulated with
the proposed concept which might be due to a sim-
pli®ed description of the hydrolysis processes. 70±
100 h after experiments were started, the decrease in
OUR was low and the OUR value seemed to con-
verge to zero. These tails were simulated well by the
model concept. Vollertsen et al. (1998) argued that
a more complex description of the hydrolysis pro-
cesses probably would result in better agreement
between measurement and simulation, however,
parameters would be introduced which could not,
or only with great diculty, be determined expli-
citly. Such an extension of the model concept
would therefore increase the model complexity and,
hence, the goodness of model calibration but prob-
ably decrease the goodness of model validation
(Larsen, 1997).
The concept describing aerobic transformations
of organic matter in suspended sewer sediments pre-
sented by Vollertsen and Hvitved-Jacobsen (1998)
has been applied for wastewater particles.
Equations for calculation of model parameters were
derived from the coupled di€erential equations in
the model and the model was validated. The vali-
dation was conducted by measurement of oxygen
utilization rate (OUR) responses to readily biode-
gradable substrate (SS) which was added after long
term aerobic exposure of the particles and by ob-
serving general agreements between measurements
and simulations.

Table 4. Initial hydrolysis rates of the hydrolysible organic matter per unit of biomass for the di€erent settling velocity fractions. The rate
is calculated as kh#(XS/XB)/(KX#+(XS/XB)). The average values in the suspended sewer sediment column were found by Vollertsen et al.
(1998)

vsr10 mm sÿ1 10>vsr5 mm sÿ1 5>vsr2 mm sÿ1 2>vsr1 mm sÿ1 Average for suspended sewer sediments

kinitial for XS,slow (dÿ1) 0.40 (0.17) 0.42 (0.08) 0.35 (0.11) 0.29 (0.11) 0.29
kinitial for XS,medium (dÿ1) 0.53 (0.12) 0.67 (0.20) 0.71 (0.24) 0.78 (0.47) 0.85
kinitial for XS,fast+SS (dÿ1) 4.5 (3.2) 4.7 (1.9) 4.3 (2.1) 3.8 (1.7) 1.62
3140 Jes Vollertsen and Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen

Fig. 8. Variation of COD fractions with settling velocities for wastewater particle samples. The bold
lines are based on linear regression for the whole data set.

Biomass associated with wastewater particles was
observed not to respond to SS addition with expo-
nential increase in the respiration rate as should be
expected from the model concept presented.
However, compared to biomass associated with
sewer sediment particles, wastewater particles did
react immediately to addition of SS with a corre-
sponding initial increase in OUR and a decrease
after the added SS was used up. Therefore, it can
be concluded that the anity to SS in form of acet-
ate was generally the same for the two types of par-
ticles originating from wastewater and sewer
sediments. The SS added di€ered from 18 to 281 g
COD mÿ3 without any systematic di€erence in the
shape of the OUR response. Wastewater particles
were visually observed to be constituted primarily
of paper, i.e. cellulose. The biomass might, there-
fore, be adapted for hydrolysis of cellulose and
uptake of glucose but not utilization of acetate.
Results from pure culture cells grown on two sub-
strates shows that bacteria often prefer the substrate
which allows fast growth and formation of enzymes
needed for utilization of the other substrate is sup-
pressed, resulting in a non exponential growth of
the biomass (Schlegel, 1992). Sewer sediments, how-
ever, are likely to be a more diverse substrate for
biomass and, therefore, would not be expected to
show the same behavior as wastewater particles.
The use of model parameters determined from SS
addition to suspended particulate organics, resulted
in a good simulation of the measured OUR. Hence,
the model concept was proven consistent in this
respect and capable of predicting changes in bio-
mass concentrations, the key COD component of
the model, in long term experiments.
Generally the concept simulates the measure-
ments well and can be validated in several respects.
However, further understanding and investigations
of the hydrolysis of organic matter is needed in
order to explain the nature of the peaks observed in
the experiments. Furthermore, the non-exponential
growth behavior of the wastewater particles calls
for better understanding of biomass/substrate re-
lations.
No signi®cant di€erences in the biodegradability
of organic matter settling with di€erent velocities
were found for wastewater particles. For suspended
sewer sediments such signi®cant di€erences were
 Sewer solids parameters
reported by Vollertsen et al. (1998). Furthermore,
the fast hydrolyzable organic matter in wastewater
particles was signi®cantly faster hydrolyzable than
the equivalent fraction in sewer sediments. As the
wastewater particles investigated are potential input
to formation of sewer sediments in shallow regions
of the sewer systems, this indicates that organic
matter in sewer sediment may undergo transform-
ation processes changing structure and biodegrad-
ability while deposited.
PERSPECTIVES
Sewer solids in terms of sewer sediment particles
and particles directly originating from incoming
wastewater are known to form the major part of
CSO loadings with organic matter into receiving
waters. The results from this research should, there-
fore, not exclusively be related to sewer systems,
but extended to include sewer system and receiving
water integrated aspects too.
In receiving waters, CSO loadings cause quality
problems, e.g. in terms of DO depletion due to bio-
degradation of incoming organics. Such problems
have been dealt with for several years, however, at
a rather simple level. The research presented gives a
new perspective: The conceptual understanding that
particles include heterotrophic biomass as well as
hydrolyzable substrates and the possibility of realis-
tic modeling of the associated microbial processes,
brings new potential for quality modeling of receiv-
ing waters. When addressing CSO impacts on
receiving waters it should be realistic to combine
modeling in terms of transport and accumulation of
sewer solids with microbial transformations and
DO consuming processes associated with these
solids.
AcknowledgementsÐFinancial support for this research
project was provided by the Danish Technical Research
Council, the framework programme on ``Solids in Sewage
Systems''.
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