Nitrification Modeling in Pilot-Scale Chloraminated Drinking Water Distribution Systems
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 9
Abstract
A suspended growth nitrification model was developed to describe nitrification dynamics in terms of chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and nitrifying bacteria concentrations in pilot-scale chloraminated drinking water systems. The model provided a semimechanistic base to study the regrowth and persistence of nitrifiers in chloraminated distribution systems. Results showed that the developed suspended growth model, without a biofilm nitrification component, was able to simulate and predict nitrification episodes in the pilot-scale systems. In the restricted low nutrient drinking water environment, growth kinetic parameters for nitrifiers were estimated to be significantly lower than ranges reported in the literature. The maximum specific growth rate and ammonia half-saturation constant for ammonia oxidizing bacteria were estimated to be and , respectively. In addition, an estimated reaction rate of between chloramines and soluble microbial products suggests that heterotrophic growth can be a significant contributor to chloramine decay in some chloraminated distribution systems.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. NSFBES-0112128), the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Environmental Studies. The writers also acknowledge the assistance of Kala Fleming for operating and monitoring the pilot-scale systems during the work described here. During this study, Jian Yang was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 9 • September 2008
Pages: 731 - 742
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 5, 2007
Accepted: Feb 25, 2008
Published online: Sep 1, 2008
Published in print: Sep 2008
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