ABSTRACT
For many years the design and operation of the activated sludge process was directed toward the removal of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). BOD is nonspecific and measures all of the biodegradable carbon present in the wastewater. A variety of relationships have been developed to describe the kinetics of the process in terms of sludge age, hydraulic detention time, and biomass concentration. Biomass concentration, in most cases, has been related to the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS). There are several factors which considers with respect to biodegradation and achievable effluent concentrations for toxic organics in the activated sludge process. E. Katz and W. J. Weber noted that several species of bacteria commonly found in biological treatment systems are capable of degrading a multitude of toxic organic pollutants and other organic compounds. In a multisubstrate system, such effects as catabolite repression a non-competitive, competitive, an uncompetitive inhibition may occur between the various compounds which are potential substrates for the organisms.
