CAREER: Uncertainty Analysis and Modeling of the Biodegradation of Synthetic Organic Compounds in Activated Sludge Biotreatment Systems

0348161 Magbanua知识价值。活性污泥（AS）工艺最初是为去除废水中的需氧量物质和悬浮物而开发的，后来也应用于去除废水中的营养物质。最近，对具有工业和环境意义的特定化学品（称为优先污染物）设定了排放限制。生物处理已被指定为最佳可用的处理技术，并与之相对比，衡量了潜在可生物降解的合成有机化学品（soc）的优先污染物的替代处理方案。因此，开发准确预测活性污泥系统中有机碳降解的方法已成为环境工程的主要研究热点。目前的建模方法将传统的微生物生长动力学与反应器工程原理结合起来，推导出SOC降解的确定性模型。然而，经验表明，即使在受控的实验室反应器中，从实验室实验中获得的生物动力学参数也不能很好地预测SOC的去除性能。因此，考虑过程不确定性的建模方法将更为合适。PI进一步指出，了解废水生物处理中不确定性的来源将有助于设计更有效和可靠的生物工艺来优先去除污染物。PI假设废水生物处理的不确定性，以及现场表现和实验室推导的动力学之间的差异，主要源于活性生物量的浓度和活性，微生物群落的多样性以及微生物絮凝体的大小分布。更广泛的影响。优先污染物已被确定为对公众健康和环境的紧迫威胁。因此，对重点污染物的出水浓度制定了严格的限制。然而，人们对SOC去除的动力学知之甚少，因此工程师们倾向于使用非常保守的安全系数和过度设计的处理系统来确保达到SOC去除的目标。更好地了解与有机碳生物处理相关的不确定性，以及包含不确定性的模型，将允许更现实地评估不确定性风险，并促进设计和操作策略的发展，以最大限度地降低此类风险。除了通常的科学渠道外，倡议计划通过一个互动网站传播这些模型和其他项目成果，并通过专业协会向从业人员推广。该计划亦致力加强各级的科学及工程教育，特别是提供研究机会。密西西比州是一个研究支出历来落后于全国其他地区的州，因此在本科和中学阶段获得研究经验的机会受到严重限制。PI致力于提供这种机会，特别是向来自传统上在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的人提供这种机会。

0348161 Magbanua Intellectual merit. The activated sludge (AS) process was originally developed for the removal of oxygen demanding material and suspended solids, and later applied also to nutrient removal, from wastewater. More recently, effluent limits have been placed on specific chemicals of industrial and environmental significance, referred to as priority pollutants. Biotreatment has been designated the best available treatment technology, against which alternative treatment options are measured, for priority pollutants that are potentially biodegradable synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs). Consequently, the development of approaches to accurately predict SOC degradation in activated sludge systems has become a major research focus in environmental engineering. The current modeling approach combines traditional microbial growth kinetics with reactor engineering principles to derive a deterministic model of SOC degradation. Experience has shown, however, that bio kinetic parameters derived from laboratory experiments are poor predictors of SOC removal performance, even in controlled laboratory reactors. Therefore, a modeling approach that accounts for process uncertainties would be more appropriate. The PI further suggests that an understanding of the sources of uncertainty in wastewater bio treatment would facilitate the design of more efficient and reliable bioprocesses for priority pollutant removal. The PI hypothesizes that uncertainty in wastewater bio treatment, and the disparity between field performance and laboratory-derived kinetics, arises principally from the concentration and activity of the competent biomass, the diversity of the microbial community, and the size distribution of the microbial flocs.Broader Impacts. Priority pollutants have been identified as imminent threats to public health and the environment. Strict limits have consequently been established for effluent concentrations of priority pollutant. The kinetics of SOC removal are poorly understood, however, so engineers tend to use very conservative safety factors and grossly over design treatment systems to ensure that SOC removal goals are met. A better understanding of the uncertainties related to SOC bio treatment, and models incorporating uncertainty, would permit more realistic assessment of uncertainty risk, and facilitate the development of design and operational strategies that minimize such risk. In addition to the usual scientific channels, The PI plans to disseminate these models and other project results through an interactive web site, which will be promoted to practitioners through professional associations. The PI is also committed to enhancing science and engineering education at all levels, particularly by providing opportunities for research. Mississippi is a state in which research expenditures have traditionally lagged the rest of the country, so availability of research experiences at the undergraduate and secondary levels has been severely limited. The PI is committed to providing such opportunities, particularly to persons from groups traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering.