Development and Calibration of Fate Models for Micro-Constituents in Wastewater

Fate models can provide helpful information in efforts attempting to minimize the discharge of micro-constituents in treated wastewater effluents and biosolids. The accuracy of fate modeling predictions is often dependent on the reliability of biodegradation rate coefficients, which are best developed from pilot-or full-scale tests. When such quality data are not available, as is frequently the case, it is possible to create conceptual models that allow the fitting of influent and effluent concentration data to derive a range of biodegradation rate coefficients which can then be tested against other external data sets. This paper discusses the approach used to calibrate and validate fate models for estrogenic hormones and synthetic musk fragrances, two classes of micro-constituents that are of significant environmental concern.