Sensitivity analysis of autotrophic N removal by a granule based bioreactor: Influence of mass transfer versus microbial kinetics

A comprehensive and global sensitivity analysis was conducted under a range of operating conditions. The relative importance of mass transfer resistance versus kinetic parameters was studied and found to depend on the operating regime as follows: Operating under the optimal loading ratio of 1.90 (gO₂/m³/d)/(gN/m³/d), the system was influenced by mass transfer (10% impact on nitrogen removal) and performance was limited by AOB activity (75% impact on
nitrogen removal), while operating above, AnAOB activity was limiting (68% impact on nitrogen removal). The negative effect of oxygen mass transfer had an impact of 15% on nitrogen removal. Summarizing such quantitative analyses led to formulation of an optimal operation window, which serves a valuable tool for diagnosis of performance problems and identification of optimal solutions in nitritation/anammox applications.