Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech

Prediction of the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio

of activated sludge
Jianping Fan a,b, Fangying Ji a,b,⇑, Xiaoyi Xu a,b, Ying Wang a,b, Dachao Yan a,b, Xuan Xu a,b, Qingkong Chen c,
Jingzhong Xiong d, Qiang He a,b
a
Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
b
National Centre for International Research of Low-carbon and Green Buildings, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
c
School of River and Ocean Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
d
The Southwest Subsidiary Company of China Airport Construction Group Corporation, Chengdu 610202, China

h i g h l i g h t s

 The correlation between the particle size and the suspension ratio was measured.
 A model to predict the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio was developed.
 The concentration of fine grit is proportional to its suspension ratio.
 WWTPs should adjust MLSS based on MLVSS/MLSS to ensure the stability of MLVSS.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper investigated the suspension properties of fine grit with different particle sizes in a bioreactor
Received 12 March 2015 and developed a model to predict its effect on the ratio of mixed liquor volatile suspended solids to the
Received in revised form 10 April 2015 mixed liquor suspended solids (MLVSS/MLSS) of activated sludge. The experimental results revealed that
Accepted 12 April 2015
a smaller particle size corresponds to a larger suspension ratio, defined as the proportion of fine grit
Available online 22 April 2015
brought in by influent that is suspended in the activated sludge, and a smaller MLVSS/MLSS ratio. The
model demonstrated that the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio is related to the fine grit concen-
Keywords:
tration and chemical oxygen demand in influent and the observed sludge yield. However, fine grit has no
Fine grit
Activated sludge
influence on the activity of microorganisms. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can adjust MLSS
Prediction model based on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio to ensure the stability of MLVSS, which can achieve the stable operation
MLVSS/MLSS ratio of WWTPs.
Particle size Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction to evaluate sludge activity. In municipal WWTPs, the MLVSS/MLSS

The activated sludge process is widely used in the biological
treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, and it is highly
efficient in the removal of organic matter, nitrogen, and phospho-
rus (Tamis et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2011; Yuan et al., 2015).
Activated sludge is composed of organic and inorganic matter,
and the organic matter content indirectly reflects the amount of
active microorganisms in sludge (Zhi and Ji, 2014; Zhi et al., in
press). Thus, the ratio of the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids
to mixed liquor suspended solids (MLVSS/MLSS) is commonly used
⇑ Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s
Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045,
China. Tel.: +86 13883105423; fax: +86 023 65127537.
E-mail address: jfytougao@163.com (F. Ji).
ratio is often believed to be about 0.75 (Wentzel et al., 2002).
However, in most of China’s WWTPs, this ratio is only about
0.3–0.5 (Feng et al., 2013; Yan et al., 2013b), and can even be as
low as 0.2 (Liu et al., 2012). This may be related to the high particle
concentrations in municipal wastewater and the wastewater treat-
ment process. Seventy-eight percent of the WWTPs in China con-
tain influent with a ratio of suspended solids to 5-day
biochemical oxygen demand (SS/BOD5) that is higher than the
average value of 1.1 in America (Zheng et al., 2011). In China, many
WWTPs use an oxidation ditch or sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
(Lei and Ni, 2014; Liu et al., 2010; Zhou et al., 2013b), which do
not set the primary settling tanks (PSTs). Although some WWTPs
apply wastewater processes that do set the PSTs, such as anaero-
bic/anoxic/aerobic (A2/O) processes, they also omit the PSTs in
some operations in order to ensure adequate carbon sources for

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.04.035
0960-8524/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
52 J. Fan et al. / Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56
biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal (Xie et al., 2013; Yan
et al., 2013a, 2014). Therefore, fine grit (<200 lm), which should
be removed in the PSTs, is introduced into the bioreactor. A previ-
ous study (He et al., 2013) demonstrated that fine grit with a par-
ticle size of >73 lm was deposited at the bottom of bioreactors,
whereas fine grit with a particle size of 673 lm became suspended
in the activated sludge and directly resulted in a decrease in the
MLVSS/MLSS ratio. Currently, the control of activated sludge con-
centrations is based on the MLSS in China’s WWTPs. In this case,
WWTPs have to artificially improve the MLSS of activated sludge
to maintain the MLVSS of activated sludge and the performance
of biological wastewater treatment systems.
Current activated sludge kinetic models, such as the Eckenfelder
model (Eckenfelder and O’Conner, 1961), Lawrence–McCarty
model (Lawrence and McCarty, 1970), McKinney model
(Mckinney, 1962), and Activated Sludge Models (ASMs) (Henze
et al., 2000), have successfully interpreted the relationship
between substrate degradation and microbial growth in the
wastewater treatment process. They have become the theoretical
basis for the design and operation of activated sludge processes
and the related biological treatment processes (Baek et al., 2009;
Souza et al., 2008; Xie et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2013; Zhou et al.,
2013a). However, the prediction of the effect of fine grit in influent
on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of activated sludge has not been reported
within the scope of the relevant literature. Ekama and Wentzel
(2004) developed a model to predict the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of acti-
vated sludge based on the difference in the inorganic suspended
solids (ISS) content between ordinary heterotrophic organisms
and phosphate accumulating organisms, but they neglected to
investigate the decrease in the MLVSS/MLSS ratio caused by fine
grit in influent.
To investigate the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS of acti-
vated sludge, this study used an artificial simulation method, in
which fine grit with different particle sizes was added to the influ-
ent of a bioreactor, and continuously measured the MLSS and
MLVSS/MLSS ratio of activated sludge in the bioreactor. This paper
investigated the suspension properties of the different grit addi-
tions and established a model to predict the effect of fine grit with
different particle sizes on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of activated
sludge. The results will provide a reference for the accurate control
of the MLSS of activated sludge.
2. Methods
2.1. Experimental materials and equipment
(1) Grit: by screening the quartz sand (relative density of 2.65)
with sieves, five different particle sizes of fine grit were
obtained. The particle sizes were 14 lm (#1), 33 lm (#2),
50 lm (#3), 66 lm (#4), and 107 lm (#5).
(2) Biological wastewater treatment system: in order to
research the suspension properties of fine grit with different
particle sizes, six experimental systems were set up, all
based on traditional activated sludge processes. The effec-
tive volume of the aeration tank was 70 L with an influent
flow rate of 200 L/d, a hydraulic retention time of 0.35 d,
and a dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration range of
2–3 mg/L (a aeration intensity or ratio of air to water of
5:1–6:1). The sludge return ratio of the secondary sedimen-
tation tank was 50%. The sludge age was 15 d and deter-
mined by discharging 4.7 L of sludge mixed liquor from the
aeration tank per day.
(3) Wastewater quality: the influent was settled domestic
wastewater from Chongqing University (China). In order to
facilitate the research, the wastewater quality was
controlled with additions of starch, glucose, milk powder,
NH4Cl, and KH2PO4. During the experiment, the influent’s
average COD and NH+4-N, total nitrogen (TN), total phospho-
rus (TP), SS and ISS concentrations were 408 mg/L, 30.8 mg/
L, 35.3 mg/L, 8.15 mg/L, 32.9 mg/L and 6.9 mg/L,
respectively.
(4) Experimental methods: after the indicators of the six exper-
imental systems were stable, including the MLSS and MLVSS
of the activated sludge, an equal amount of fine grit with dif-
ferent particle sizes was added to the influent of five exper-
imental systems and the ISS concentration of influent was
controlled at 300 mg/L. Compared to the ISS concentration
of 300 mg/L during the experimental period, the ISS in raw
wastewater (6.9 mg/L) could be ignored. The sixth experi-
ment was a control and no fine grit was added to the influ-
ent. The experimental systems were operated for 60 d.
2.2. Experimental methods
According to the focus of this research, the COD, SS, and ISS in
the influent and effluent of the six experimental systems were
determined each day. By measuring the MLSS, MLVSS, and mixed
liquor inorganic suspended solids (MLISS) in the activated sludge
in the aeration tank, the MLVSS/MLSS ratio was calculated.
The particle size of fine grit was determined using a laser parti-
cle size analyser (BT-9300HT, Bettersize Instruments Ltd., China).
The COD was determined using a DR1010 COD Analyzer (HACH,
USA). The SS, ISS, MLSS, MLVSS, and MLISS were determined using
the gravimetric method (APHA et al., 2005).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of fine grit on activated sludge properties
Fig. S1 shows the effect of fine grit with different particle sizes
on the MLSS and MLVSS of the activated sludge. The MLSS in the
experimental systems increased with the addition of fine grit.
Moreover, smaller grit particle sizes corresponded to greater
increases in MLSS. The MLVSS values of each system were substan-
tially identical, indicating that the fine grit did not influence the
organic matter concentration or microbial biomass. The improve-
ment in MLSS was due to the increase in the inorganic matter con-
centration, which resulted from the fine grit suspended in the
activated sludge. Smaller particle sizes corresponded to more sus-
pended fine grit and higher fine grit concentrations and MLSS in
the activated sludge.
It was also shown that with the extension of operation time, the
increase rates of MLSS gradually slowed. After 45 d (three times
the sludge age), the MLSS remained mostly unchanged. This is
because the fine grit suspended in the activated sludge accumu-
lated in the activated sludge or was discharged from the bioreactor
through the excess sludge, except for a very small portion that was
discharged via the effluent. During the early stages of the experi-
ments, the fine grit concentration in the activated sludge was small
and the amount of fine grit discharged with the excess sludge was
lower than that of the grit that was brought into the bioreactor by
the influent and suspended in the activated sludge, which led to an
increase in the fine grit concentration. With the increase in grit
concentration, the amount of grit discharged with the excess
sludge also increased. When the fine grit concentration in the acti-
vated sludge increased to a certain extent, the amount of fine grit
discharged by the excess sludge was equal to that of the grit that
was brought in by the influent and suspended in the activated
sludge. Thus, the concentration of fine grit remained unchanged
and the MLSS tended to be stable. At this time, the concentration
 J. Fan et al. / Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56 53

of fine grit reached a maximum and the effect of fine grit on the Table 1
MLVSS/MLSS ratio was the greatest. Effluent COD of each experimental system.

Fig. 1a illustrates the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio Particle size (lm) 14 33 50 66 107 Control
of activated sludge. With the addition of fine grit with a particle group
size of 666 lm, the MLVSS/MLSS ratio decreased significantly. Range (mg/L) 20–41 22–47 22–45 18–41 20–44 21–46
The average (mg/L) 31.5 37.2 35.1 28.7 31.7 34.4
When the experimental systems were at a steady state (45–
60 d), the mean MLVSS/MLSS values ranged from 0.216 to 0.411
(45.2–71.2% lower than the empirical value of 0.75). Generally, a volume. Thus, the effect of fine grit on the volume of the aeration
low MLVSS/MLSS ratio indicates low sludge activity. However, tank was negligible.
the effluent COD values of the experimental systems (Table 1) indi- After operation for i days, the suspension ratio of fine grit can be
cated that fine grit had no effect on the effluent COD. The reasons calculated as follows:
for this are (1) fine grit is an inert substance and has no influence
on microorganism activity (Ji et al., 2015) and (2) the MLVSS of X
i
V  X grit;i þ Q W X grit;i
each system was identical, and thus, the microorganism concentra- m1 þ m2 i¼1
tions in the activated sludge were identical. Therefore, fine grit ai ¼ ¼
M i  Q  X 0;grit
does not affect the performance of WWTPs. Moreover, WWTPs
can adjust the MLSS based on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio to ensure X
i
VX grit;i
V  X grit;i þ hc
the stability of the MLVSS, which can achieve the stable operation i¼1
of WWTPs. ¼ ; ð1Þ
i  Q  X 0;grit
where i is the number of operation days (d), a is the suspension
3.2. Suspension ratio of fine grit
ratio of fine grit after an operation of i days, m1 is the amount of fine
grit accumulated in the activated sludge (mg), m2 is the amount of
As shown above, the smaller the particle size is, the more easily
fine grit discharged via excess sludge (mg), M is the total amount of
fine grit is suspended in the activated sludge. The suspension prop-
grit brought in by influent (mg), V is the volume of the aeration tank
erties of grit are characterised by the suspension ratio, which is
(L), Xgrit is the concentration of fine grit in the activated sludge of
defined as the proportion of fine grit brought in by influent that
the aeration tank, Q and QW are the flow rates of the influent and
is suspended in the activated sludge. The measurements of the
excess sludge, respectively, X0,grit is the concentration of fine grit
effluent SS and ISS from each experimental system showed that
in the influent, and hc is the sludge age (d).
both the SS and ISS were very small and the amount of fine grit dis-
The concentration of fine grit in the activated sludge is calcu-
charged through effluent could be neglected. After 60 d, the
lated as
amount of fine grit in each group was 3600 g. Even if all the fine
grit was deposited at the bottom of the aeration tank, the volume X grit ¼ X ISS  f c  X VSS ; ð2Þ
occupied by the fine grit would only be 1.9% of the aeration tank
where XISS and XVSS are the MLISS and MLVSS (mg/L), respectively,
and fc is the content of inorganic solids in the biomass (mg ISS/
mg VSS), with a value is equal to the MLISS/MLVSS ratio of the acti-
vated sludge in the control group (0.159).
The suspension ratios of fine grit with different particle sizes are
shown in Fig. 1b. The suspension ratio remained unchanged with
increasing operation time, which indicated that the suspension
properties of fine grit remained unchanged when the hydraulic
flow state was constant. The mean values of the suspension ratio
of fine grit of 14 lm, 33 lm, 50 lm, 66 lm and 107 lm were
0.848, 0.664, 0.483, 0.317 and 0.073, respectively. Smaller particle
sizes corresponded to larger suspension ratios. The regression
between the particle size and suspension ratio (Fig. 2) shows that
they are significantly correlated (R2 = 0.995, P = 0.003 < 0.01):

a ¼ 1:03  0:013  dp þ 3:8  105  d2p ; ð3Þ

Fig. 1. Effect of particle size on the (a) MLVSS/MLSS ratio of activated sludge and (b) Fig. 2. Correlation between particle size and suspension ratio (dp and a are the
suspension ratio of fine grit. particle size and suspension ratio of fine grit, respectively).
54 J. Fan et al. / Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56

where dp is the particle size of fine grit (lm). Eq. (3) is the formula Eq. (6) represents the fine grit concentration in the activated
used to calculate the suspension ratio of fine grit. sludge at a steady state.
According to Eq. (3), when dp = 125 lm, a = 0, indicating that
fine grit with a particle size of 125 lm is completely deposited at 3.4. Prediction of the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of
the bottom of the bioreactor. When dp > 125 lm, a < 0. activated sludge
Obviously, a cannot be negative, so the equation is only suitable
for fine grit with a particle size of 6125 lm. In fact, fine grit with The organic portion of activated sludge is composed of active
a particle size of >125 lm is completely deposited at the bottom microorganisms (Xa), the endogenous metabolite of active microor-
of biological tank (i.e., a = 0) and has no effect on the MLVSS/ ganisms (Xe), and the non-biodegradable organic suspended solids
MLSS ratio of activated sludge. in influent (Xi). According to the mass balance equations of each
component in a biological system, their concentrations can be cal-
3.3. Prediction of the concentration of fine grit in the activated sludge culated when the system is at a steady state, and subsequently, the
MLVSS of the activated sludge at a steady state can be calculated
The fine grit concentration in the activated sludge is as follows (Metcalf and Eddy Inc., 2002).
(Derivation in Supporting Information): The concentration of active microorganisms at a steady state is
   calculated as follows:
aQhc X 0; grit t
X grit ¼  1  exp  YQ ðS0  Se Þ hc YðS0  Se Þ hc
V hc Xa ¼  ¼  ; ð7Þ
   1 þ kd hc V 1 þ kd hc s
ahc X 0; grit t
¼  1  exp  ; ð4Þ
s hc where Xa is the concentration of active microorganisms in the biore-
actor (mg VSS/L); Y is the synthesis yield coefficient (mg VSS/ mg
where t is the operation time (d) and s is the hydraulic retention
COD), with a range of 0.3–0.6 and a typical value of 0.4 (Metcalf
time (d).
and Eddy Inc., 2002); S0 and Se are the COD concentrations of the
Substituting the calculation formula for the suspension ratio
influent and effluent (mg/L), respectively; and kd is the endogenous
(Eq. (3)) into Eq. (4) results in
decay coefficient (d1), with a range of 0.06–0.15 and a typical value
  hc X 0;
2
X grit ¼ 1:03  0:013  dp þ 3:8  105  dp 
grit of 0.10 (Metcalf and Eddy Inc., 2002).
  
s The concentration of the endogenous metabolite of active
t microorganisms at a steady state is calculated as follows:
 1  exp  : ð5Þ
hc YðS0  Se Þ hc
X e ¼ f d kd X a hc ¼ f d kd hc   ; ð8Þ
Eq. (5) represents the fine grit concentration in the activated 1 þ kd hc s
sludge as a function of the operation time. The concentration of
where fd is the fraction of biomass that remains as endogenous
fine grit can be obtained by substituting the values of X0,grit, hc, s,
metabolite (mg VSS/mg VSS) and has a range of 0.10–0.15 and a
and dp into Eq. (5). The comparison of the predicted and measured
typical value of 0.10 (Metcalf and Eddy Inc., 2002).
concentrations of fine grit is shown in Fig. 3. For fine grit additions
The concentration of inert organic suspended solids at a steady
of 14 lm, 33 lm, 50 lm, 66 lm, and 107 lm, the relative errors
state is calculated as follows:
between the predicted and measured values are 4.1% ± 2.3%,
4.3% ± 3.1%, 4.3% ± 2.3%, 7.6% ± 3.7%, and 7.2% ± 5.0%, respectively. hc X 0;i
Xi ¼ ; ð9Þ
The difference between the predicted and measured values is s
small, indicating that the equation for calculating the fine grit con- where X0,i is the concentration of inert organic suspended solids in
centration in the activated sludge is reasonable. the influent (mg VSS/L).
Eq. (4) demonstrates that the concentration of fine grit is propor- As inert organic suspended solids in the influent can be ignored,
tional to its suspension ratio. According to a further analysis using the MLVSS of the activated sludge is calculated as
Eq. (5), when t tends to infinity, the concentration of fine grit is YðS0  Se Þ hc
X VSS ¼ X a þ X e ¼ ð1 þ f d kd hc Þ   : ð10Þ
ahc X 0; grit 1 þ kd hc s
X grit ¼
s The inorganic suspended solid (ISS) in the activated sludge con-
  hc X 0; grit sists of the inorganic solids in biomass and fine grit. The concentra-
2
¼ 1:03  0:013  dp þ 3:8  105  dp  : ð6Þ tion of inorganic solids in the biomass at a steady state is
s
calculated as
YðS0  Se Þ hc
X c;ISS ¼ f c  X VSS ¼ f c  ð1 þ f d kd hc Þ   ; ð11Þ
1 þ kd hc s
where Xc, ISS is the concentration of inorganic solids in the biomass
(mg/L).
By combining the equation for the fine grit concentration in the
activated sludge at a steady state, the MLISS of the activated sludge
can be calculated as
X ISS ¼ X c;ISS þ X grit
YðS0  Se Þ hc ahc X 0;grit
¼ f c  ð1 þ f d kd hc Þ   þ : ð12Þ
1 þ kd hc s s
According to Eqs. (10) and (12), the activated sludge MLVSS/
MLSS is

Fig. 3. Comparison of the predicted and measured concentrations of fine grit in the X VSS 1
f ¼ ¼ : ð13Þ
activated sludge (Xgrit is the fine grit concentration in the activated sludge and X VSS þ X ISS 1 þ f þ aX0;grit ð1þkd hc Þ
c Yð1þf k hc ÞðS0 Se Þ
dotted lines represent predicted values). d d
 J. Fan et al. / Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56
Fig. 4. Comparison between the predicted and measured MLVSS/MLSS ratio of
activated sludge at a steady state.
Substituting the formula for the suspension ratio (Eq. (3)) into
Eq. (13) yields
1 035.
f ¼ : ð14Þ
ð1:030:013dþ3:8105 d2 ÞX 0;grit ð1þkd hc Þ
1 þ fc þ Yð1þf d kd hc ÞðS0 Se Þ
Eq. (14) predicts the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio
of activated sludge. The typical values of Y, kd, and fd are 0.4, 0.1,
and 0.1, respectively (Metcalf and Eddy Inc., 2002). By substituting
the parameters’ values into the above equation, the MLVSS/MLSS
ratio of activated sludge at a steady state can be calculated. The
comparison of the predicted and measured values is shown in
Fig. 4. The relative errors between the predicted and measured val-
ues corresponding to the addition of fine grit with a size of 14 lm,
33 lm, 50 lm, 66 lm, and 107 lm are 5.1%, 0.8%, 0.8%, 7.3%, and
1.5%, respectively. The average value of these relative errors is
3.1% ± 3.0%. The difference between the predicted and measured
values is small, indicating that the prediction model is reasonable.
Eq. (14) demonstrates that the effect of fine grit on the MLVSS/
MLSS ratio of activated sludge is not only related to the particle
size of fine grit, but also the fine grit concentration and COD in
influent and sludge age. Lower influent COD corresponds to a lower
MLVSS/MLSS ratio. Thus, the characterisation of the content of fine
grit in influent should be based on the ISS/COD ratio. Larger ISS/
COD values correspond to smaller MLVSS/MLSS values. An increase
in sludge age results in an increase in both the MLVSS and MLISS,
but leads to a decrease in the MLVSS/MLSS ratio. This is because a
higher sludge age corresponds to a smaller observed yield. By using
the observed yield to calculate the MLVSS, the MLVSS of the acti-
vated sludge is represented as
Y obs ðS0  Se Þhc
X VSS ¼ ; ð15Þ
s
where Yobs is the observed yield (mg VSS/mg COD).
In this case, the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of the sludge is
1 99, 3213–3223.
f ¼ : ð16Þ
ð1:030:013dp þ3:8105 d2p ÞX 0;grit
1 þ fc þ Y obs ðS0 Se Þ
Eq. (16) illustrates that a lower observed yield corresponds to a
smaller MLVSS/MLSS ratio and a greater effect of fine grit on the
MLVSS/MLSS ratio.
4. Conclusions
The effect of the particle size of fine grit on its suspension ratio
is significant. A smaller particle size corresponds to a larger sus-
pension ratio, a higher concentration of fine grit in the activated
55
sludge, and a smaller MLVSS/MLSS ratio. Moreover, the effect of
fine grit on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio is related to the fine grit and
COD concentrations in influent and the observed sludge yield.
However, fine grit doesn’t affect the activity of microorganisms.
WWTPs can adjust the MLSS based on the MLVSS/MLSS ratio to
ensure the stability of the MLVSS, which can achieve the stable
operation of WWTPs.
Acknowledgements
This research was financially supported by the Major Science
and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and
Treatment (2013ZX07314-001-002) and the 111 Project (No.
B13041).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.04.
References
APHA, AWWA, WEF, 2005. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater, 21st ed. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.
Baek, S.H., Jeon, S.K., Pagilla, K., 2009. Mathematical modeling of aerobic membrane
bioreactor (MBR) using activated sludge model no. 1 (ASM1). J. Ind. Eng. Chem.
15, 835–840.
Eckenfelder, W.W.J., O’Conner, D.J., 1961. Biological Waste Treatment. Pergamon
Press, London.
Ekama, G.A., Wentzel, M.C., 2004. A predictive model for the reactor inorganic
suspended solids concentration in activated sludge systems. Water Res. 38,
4093–4106.
Feng, L.Y., Yang, L.Q., Zhang, L.X., Chen, H.L., Chen, J., 2013. Improved methane
production from waste activated sludge with low organic content by alkaline
pretreatment at pH 10. Water Sci. Technol. 68, 1591–1598.
He, L., Ji, F., He, X., Zhou, W., Xu, X., Lai, M., 2013. Validation of accumulation models
for inorganic suspended solids of different particle size in an activated sludge
system. Bioresour. Technol. 149, 51–57.
Henze, M., Gujer, W., Mino, T., van Loosdrecht, M., 2000. Activated sludge models
ASM1, ASM2, ASM2d and ASM3. IWA Publishing, London.
Ji, F., Zhou, W., Pei, L., He, L., 2015. Impacts of fine sediment on activated sludge
system and system recovery characteristics. Res. Environ. Sci. 28, 326–332.
Lawrence, A.W., McCarty, P.L., 1970. Unified basis for biological treatment design
and operation. J. Sanitary Eng. Div. 96, 757–778.
Lei, L., Ni, J., 2014. Three-dimensional three-phase model for simulation of
hydrodynamics, oxygen mass transfer, carbon oxidation, nitrification and
denitrification in an oxidation ditch. Water Res. 53, 200–214.
Liu, Y., Shi, H., Xia, L., Shi, H., Shen, T., Wang, Z., Wang, G., Wang, Y., 2010. Study of
operational conditions of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in a
Carrousel oxidation ditch for domestic wastewater treatment. Bioresour.
Technol. 101, 901–906.
Liu, H., de Koning, J., He, Q., Li, J., Spanjers, H., Tang, C., 2012. Efficiency of a pilot-
scale integrated sludge thickening and digestion reactor in treating low-organic
excess sludge. Environ. Technol. 33, 1403–1408.
Mckinney, R.E., 1962. Mathematics of complete mixing activated sludge. Trans. Am.
Soc. Civil Eng. 128, 497–523.
Metcalf & Eddy Inc., 2002. Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse, fourth
ed. McGraw Hill Higher Education Press.
Souza, S.M., Araújo, O.Q.F., Coelho, M.A.Z., 2008. Model-based optimization of a
sequencing batch reactor for biological nitrogen removal. Bioresour. Technol.
Tamis, J., van Schouwenburg, G., Kleerebezem, R., van Loosdrecht, M.C.M., 2011. A
full scale worm reactor for efficient sludge reduction by predation in a
wastewater treatment plant. Water Res. 45, 5916–5924.
Wentzel, M.C., Ubisi, M.F., Lakay, M.T., Ekama, G.A., 2002. Incorporation of inorganic
material in anoxic/aerobic-activated sludge system mixed liquor. Water Res. 36,
5074–5082.
Xie, W., Zhang, R., Li, W., Ni, B., Fang, F., Sheng, G., Yu, H., Song, J., Le, D., Bi, X., Liu, C.,
Yang, M., 2011. Simulation and optimization of a full-scale Carrousel oxidation
ditch plant for municipal wastewater treatment. Biochem. Eng. J. 56, 9–16.
Xie, E., Xu, X., Luo, G., 2013. Study on a novel reactor of sludge process reduction for
domestic sewage treatment. Environ. Technol. 34, 1593–1599.
Yan, P., Ji, F., Wang, J., Fan, J., Guan, W., Chen, Q., 2013a. Pilot-scale test of an
advanced, integrated wastewater treatment process with sludge reduction,
inorganic solids separation, phosphorus recovery, and enhanced nutrient
removal (SIPER). Bioresour. Technol. 142, 483–489.
56 J. Fan et al. / Bioresource Technology 190 (2015) 51–56
Yan, Y., Chen, H., Xu, W., He, Q., Zhou, Q., 2013b. Enhancement of biochemical
methane potential from excess sludge with low organic content by mild
thermal pretreatment. Biochem. Eng. J. 70, 127–134.
Yan, P., Ji, F.Y., Fan, J.P., Zong, S.A., 2014. Grit separation module performance and
influencing factors for grit removal efficiency from activated sludge. Sep. Sci.
Technol. 49, 121–129.
Yang, S., Guo, W., Zhou, X., Meng, Z., Liu, B., Ren, N., 2011. Optimization of operating
parameters for sludge process reduction under alternating aerobic/oxygen-
limited conditions by response surface methodology. Bioresour. Technol. 102,
9843–9851.
Yang, M., Sun, P., Wang, R., Han, J., Wang, J., Song, Y., Cai, J., Tang, X., 2013.
Simulation and optimization of ammonia removal at low temperature for a
double channel oxidation ditch based on fully coupled activated sludge model
(FCASM): a full-scale study. Bioresour. Technol. 143, 538–548.
Yuan, L., Zhi, W., Liu, Y., Karyala, S., Vikesland, P.J., Chen, X., Zhang, H., 2015. Lead
toxicity to the performance, viability, and community composition of activated
sludge microorganisms. Environ. Sci. Technol., 824–830
Zheng, X., Sun, Y., Shang, W., Zhang, X., 2011. The reflections about the urban
sewage treatment function improvement and technology equipment
development. Water Wastewater Eng. 37, 1–5.
Zhi, W., Ji, G., 2014. Quantitative response relationships between nitrogen
transformation rates and nitrogen functional genes in a tidal flow constructed
wetland under C/N ratio constraints. Water Res. 64, 32–41.
Zhi, W., Yuan, L., Ji, G., He, C., in press. Enhanced long-term nitrogen removal and its
quantitative molecular mechanism in tidal flow constructed wetlands. Environ.
Sci. Technol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00017.
Zhou, M., Gong, J., Yang, C., Pu, W., 2013a. Simulation of the performance of aerobic
granular sludge SBR using modified ASM3 model. Bioresour. Technol. 127, 473–
481.
Zhou, X., Han, Y., Guo, X., 2013b. Enhanced total nitrogen removal performance in a
modified Orbal oxidation ditch system with internal nitrate recycle. Chem. Eng.
J. 228, 124–131.