THE USE OF ONLINE RESPIROMETRIC MONITORING AND DOSE RESPONSE-TESTING TO DETERMINE THE BEST PROCESS ALTERNATIVES FOR AN EXISTING PETROCHEMICAL WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY

A survey was carried out by Severn Trent Services at the Equistar Channelview Environmental Control Unit (ECU) using online monitoring equipment in a mobile trailer, the MAT2000. The equipment included an online respirometer that measured the viability of the biomass and the way in which it responded to different influents. The information from the respirometer was used to determine the capacity of the activated sludge plant and the extent to which nitrification contributed to overall ammonia removal. It was found that no appreciable nitrification occurred nor was it necessary to achieve the required ammonia removal.The data from the online monitors was continuously collected by a computer running the Linux operating system and was accessible from anywhere in the world via a second computer connected to the Internet.The information from the survey was used to suggest the best approaches to improving the robustness of the treatment facility. The use of an intelligent sequencing batch reactor (iSBR) was one of the suggested processes.