Jordan University of Science & Technology

Civil Engineering Department

Waste Water Engineering (CE 753)

Determination of Biological Kinetic coefficients of waste water

Submitted by:
Ahmad Bnyan
Ahmad AlAzzam
Dalia AlZeedyein
Hussam Al Khateeb

Date: 23/5/2023
Introduction
The determination of biokinetic coefficients of wastewater is an important aspect
in the design and operation of wastewater treatment plants. Biokinetic coefficients
describe the rate at which microorganisms metabolize the organic matter in
wastewater, and are used to model the performance of treatment systems.
The aim of our experiment is to determine biokinetic coefficients of water sample
wasted by sugar, a series of batch experiments were conducted in which
wastewater samples were prepared with a known quantity of microorganisms and
incubated under controlled conditions. The experiment consists of two parts:
Volatile suspended solids determination by gravimetric analysis and Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD) test. The organic matter concentration and microbial
activity are monitored over time, and the resulting data is used to calculate the
biokinetic coefficients.

Data & Results

Analysis of data
 θX 1 ks 1
1. Graph of S −S vs S to find slope ( k ) and intercept k
°

80

70

60

50
Ѳ X / So-S

40
f(x) = 54673.8196504409 x − 54.3581277722022
R² = 0.186806655200539
30

20

10

0
0.0011 0.0012 0.0013 0.0014 0.0015 0.0016 0.0017 0.0018
1/s

1 S °−S
2. Graph of θ vs to find slope (Y) and intercept Kd
θX
 1.2

1
f(x) = 1.42899875518759 x + 0.136018464214286
R² = 0.999380567407712

0.8

0.6
1/Ѳ

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
So-S / ѲX

Results
Biokinetic coefficients of waste water sample:

Discussion
The comparison of experimental results with typical values is an important aspect
of the determination of biokinetic coefficients of wastewater. Typical values are
often derived from previous studies; it provides a benchmark against which
experimental results can be compared.
One of the studies conducted on sugar waste is (Mousavian et al. 2019) study that
describes the determination of biokinetic coefficients for an up flow anaerobic
sludge blanket (UASB) reactor that is used to treat sugarcane wastewater in hot
climate conditions. The study was conducted in a laboratory-scale reactor and the
biokinetic coefficients were determined using Monod model. The reactor was able
to efficiently treat sugarcane wastewater and remove organic matter, with removal
efficiencies ranging from 76% to 98%. The experimental results showed that rate
of KS, Y, Kd, µmax, and Kmax for application of aerobic biodegradation process
in wastewater treatment of sugarcane factories was 506.4 mg/L, 0.053 g VSS/g
COD, 0.086 d-1, 0.0049 d-1, and 0.055 d-1, respectively.

(Mahmoudi et al., 2010) studied the growth kinetics using different carbon sources,
including glucose, fructose, and molasses. A kinetic model was developed to
describe the specific growth rates (μmax) and Monod constants (Ks) for each
substrate. The specific growth rates for glucose, fructose, and molasses were
determined to be 0.18, 1.25, and 0.42 h-1, respectively. The corresponding Monod
constants were found to be 107.53 g/l for glucose, 30.342 g/l for fructose, and
188.16 g/l for molasses.
However, since the experimental results fall outside the typical ranges, it may
indicate that the microorganisms in the wastewater sample are not well-suited to
the treatment process, or that the experimental conditions were not appropriate.
It is important to note that typical values are not absolute, and may vary depending
on the specific characteristics of the wastewater being treated, as well as the design
and operation of the treatment plant. Therefore, while the comparison of
experimental results with typical values can provide useful insights into the
behavior of microorganisms in wastewater treatment
References
Mousavian, S., Seyedsalehi, M., Paladino, O., Sharifi, P., Kyzas, G. Z., Dionisi, D., &
Takdastan, A. (2019). Determining biokinetic coefficients for the upflow anaerobic sludge
blanket reactor treating sugarcane wastewater in hot climate conditions. International Journal of
Environmental Science and Technology, 16, 2231-2238.

Mahmoudi, M., Baei, M. S., Najafpour, G. D., Tabandeh, F., & Eisazadeh, H. (2010). Kinetic
model for polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava and
verification of growth conditions. African Journal of Biotechnology, 9(21), 3151-3157.