Nitrification Rate Testing using WERF's High F/M Protocol: Lessons Learned

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) has developed three bench scale methods for determining the nitrification rate of a system. These methods were developed due to a demand for a shorter, simpler way to determine the nitrification rate as opposed to past methods which were time consuming and costly. In conjunction with conducting capacity analyses at three Water Reclamation Centers, the City of Atlanta used the High F/M method developed by WERF to determine nitrification rates for these studies. Along with conducting these tests, many problems arose including nitrite monitoring, maintaining pH levels, and temperature control. Each of these problems, in addition to others discussed, can have effects on the results and hinder the determination of an accurate rate. Solutions to and prevention of these issues are discussed in this paper.