Abstract
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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.