Development of Empirical Model for Trade Waste Discharges to Small Treatment Plants

This report was produced for the Urban Water Research Association of Australia, a now discontinued research program.

Back to the Urban Water Research Association of Australia catalogue

Development of Empirical Model for Trade Waste Discharges to Small Treatment Plants

Report no. UWRAA 18

November 1990

Synopsis

This project has identified the availability of the computer model ‘PRELIM’, developed on behalf of the US EPA from several major studies. This steady state model is designed to protect the particular treatment plant under study and can be run on an IBM compatible PC utilising a DOS operating environment. The program can estimate the maximum allowable loads of various pollutants from industries that can be accommodated by a treatment facility, whilst ensuring plant compliance with the applicable disposal criteria which may limit each pollutant.

Users can select the treatment processes, disposal criteria and inhibition data to suit their particular application. The program also incorporates extensive default value data bases for process removal efficiencies, inhibition data and various industry effluent characteristics, although system specific data available through sampling and analytical programs are recommended for more accurate results. After making allowance for domestic contributions and safety/future growth factors, the model will compare estimated available pollutant loads with actual measured industrial trade waste discharges.

Under this project, the PRELIM model has been adapted for use in Australia by:

– Replacement of US terminology with Australian terminology

– Conversion of the program to run on SI metric units

– Expansion and revision of the default pollutants schedule and databases to more closely reflect Australian conditions

– Enhancement of the model to include pollutant inhibition in trickling filter plants

– Modification of the program output routines to allow more efficient computer use and more convenient operation

– Amendment of the Users Guide to reflect the above.

As part of the Australian verification of the revised program, calibrated models were developed for three Mornington Peninsula & District Water Board(MPDWB) plants (activated sludge/biofiltration/aerated lagoons). However, budgetary limitations have pre-empted full calibration and verification of these models.

See also Report No. WSAA 19

Back to the Urban Water Research Association of Australia catalogue