TOWARDS A BENCHMARK SIMULATION MODEL FOR PLANT-WIDE CONTROL STRATEGY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF WWTPS

The COST/IWA benchmark simulation model has been available for seven years. Its primary purpose has been to create a platform for control strategy benchmarking of activated sludge processes. The fact that the benchmark has resulted in more than 100 publications, not only in Europe but also worldwide, demonstrates the interest in such a tool within the research community. In this paper, an extension of a benchmark simulation model (BSM1) is proposed. This extension aims at facilitating control strategy development and performance evaluation at a plant-wide level and, consequently, includes both pre-treatment of wastewater as well as the processes describing sludge treatment. In the paper, the extended plant layout is proposed and the new suggested process models are described briefly. Models for influent file design, the benchmarking procedure and the evaluation criteria are also discussed. And finally, some important remaining topics, for which consensus is required, are identified.