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The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and fate of colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) across biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge bioreactors. Primary and secondary effluent total nitrogen (TN) measurements and component fractionation, CON and DON concentration profiles across BNR bioreactors, and laboratory batch experiments with the process mixed liquor were carried out at several full-scale BNR plants in northern Poland. The organic nitrogen (ON) components were divided into high CON, low CON, and DON based on sequential filtration through 1.2, 0.45 and 0.1 μm pore-size filters. The average influent DON(0.1 μm) (<0.1 μm) concentrations ranged from 1.1 g N/m(3) to 3.9 g N/m(3) and accounted for only 4-13% of total organic nitrogen. In the effluents, however, this contribution increased to 12-45% (the DON(0.1 μm) concentrations varied in a narrow range of 0.5-1.3 g N/m(3)). Conversions of ON inside the bioreactors were investigated in more detail in two largest plants, i.e. Gdansk (565,000 PE) and Gdynia (516,000 PE). Inside the two studied bioreactors, the largest reductions of the colloidal fraction were found to occur in the anaerobic and anoxic compartments, whereas an increase of DON(0.1 μm) concentrations was observed under aerobic conditions in the last compartment. Batch experiments with the process mixed liquor confirmed that DON(0.1 μm) was explicitly produced in the aerobic phase and significant amounts of ON were converted in the anoxic phase of the experiments., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

For biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems designed to maximize nitrogen removal, the effluent total nitrogen (TN) concentration may range from 2.0 to 4.0 g N/m(3) with about 25-50% in the form of organic nitrogen (ON). In this study, current approaches to modeling organic N conversions (separate processes vs. constant contents of organic fractions) were compared. A new conceptual model of ON conversions was developed and combined with Activated Sludge Model No. 2d (ASM2d). The model addresses a new insight into the processes of ammonification, biomass decay and hydrolysis of particulate and colloidal ON (PON and CON, respectively). Three major ON fractions incorporated are defined as dissolved (DON) (<0.1 µm), CON (0.1-1.2 µm) and PON (41.2 µm). Each major fraction was further divided into two sub-fractions - biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Experimental data were collected during field measurements and lab experiments conducted at the ''Wschod'' WWTP (570,000 PE) in Gdansk (Poland). The accurate steady-state predictions of DON and CON profiles were possible by varying ammonification and hydrolysis rates under different electron acceptor conditions. With the same model parameter set, the behaviors of both inorganic N forms (NH4-N, NOX-N) and ON forms (DON, CON) in the batch experiments were predicted. The challenges to accurately simulate and predict effluent ON levels from BNR systems are due to analytical methods of direct ON measurement (replacing TKN) and lack of large enough database (in-process measurements, dynamic variations of the ON concentrations) which can be used to determine parameter value ranges.