Enhanced biological phosphorus removal and its modeling for the activated sludge and membrane bioreactor processes

A modified activated sludge process (ASP) for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) needs to

sustain stable performance for wastewater treatment to avoid eutrophication in the aquatic environment.

Unfortunately, the overall efficiency of the EBPR in ASPs and membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is frequently

hindered by different operational/system constraints. Moreover, although phosphorus removal

data from several wastewater treatment systems are available, a comprehensive mathematical model

of the process is still lacking. This paper presents a critical review that highlights the core issues of the

biological phosphorus removal in ASPs and MBRs while discussing the inhibitory process requirements

for other nutrients’ removal. This mini review also successfully provided an assessment of the available

models for predicting phosphorus removal in both ASP and MBR systems. The advantages and limitations

of the existing models were discussed together with the inclusion of few guidelines for their

improvement.