No abstract

-Modeling of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has proven itself as a very useful tool for understanding and optimizing wastewater processes. A validated model can be quite beneficial in terms of cost saving due to the prediction of the outcome of various operation scenarios and choosing the optimum operation strategy. In this paper, BioWin model (Envirosim, Canada) was used to describe the performance of an Egyptian wastewater treatment plant located in Cairo, Egypt. Gabal El-Asfar WWTP is a mega WWTP, the largest in Africa and the Middle East, and receiving municipal wastewater. Applying the Good Modeling Practice (GMP) protocol showed clear organized steps for successful modeling of Gabal El-Asfar WWTP. Historical data and design reports have been collected and various site visits have been made besides a detailed sampling campaign to perform a proper wastewater characterization and a successful model calibration. The model calibration was performed under steady-state conditions by adjusting seven stoichiometric and kinetic parameters: heterotrophic maximum growth rate, heterotrophic aerobic decay rate, substrate half saturation, maximum AOB growth rate, AOB decay rate, NH 4 substrate half saturation, and finally maximum NOB growth rate. The model was calibrated and validated using BioWin v.5.2 software. The BioWin model was successfully used for creating a plant-wide model for Gabal El-Asfar WWTP with accuracy high enough to perform plant optimization in further studies.