On the need for engineering models of integrated chemical and biological oxidation of wastewaters

Experimental examples of sequential chemical and biological oxidation treatment have been previously reviewed by Scott and Ollis, and economic estimates proposed by Esplugas and Ollis. Despite the prevalence of examples evident in these reviews and in recent conferences, very little use of kinetic models to codify and rationalize results on complex or simulated wastewaters has appeared. In consequence, models are not widely available nor have they yet received widespread acceptance as a method of analysis and reporting. To ameliorate this situation we here report a summary of important kinetic behaviors characteristic of individual chemical and biological kinetics, and provide experimental examples from recent works which illustrate the utility of such simple kinetic forms to construct two step treatment engineering models for complex wastewater and waters.