Muhammad Farooq1, Iqbal Hussain Khan1, Ghiyas-ud-Din1, Samar Gul1, Jacek Palige2, Andrzej Dobrowolski2
1 Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, P.O Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan
2 Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna Str., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland
Tracer techniques, which are well-established methods in process dynamics studies in industry, were applied to investigate the dynamics of sewage treatment process. The concept of residence time distribution (RTD) was used to investigate the efficiency of the primary clarifier, aeration tank and secondary clarifier of a sewage treatment plant. Preliminary treatment and modeling of the tracer data was performed using the software DTS Pro Ver. 4.20. A big short - circuiting (by-passing) with a large volume of stagnant zones were found in the primary and secondary clarifiers, while no stagnant zone was detected in the aeration tank.