78

Active pressure on gravity walls supporting purely

frictional soils
D. Loukidis and R. Salgado

Abstract: The active earth pressure used in the design of gravity walls is calculated based on the internal friction angle of
the retained soil or backfill. However, the friction angle of a soil changes during the deformation process. For drained load-
ing, the mobilized friction angle varies between the peak and critical-state friction angles, depending on the level of shear
strain in the retained soil. Consequently, there is not a single value of friction angle for the retained soil mass, and the active
earth pressure coefficient changes as the wall moves away from the backfill and plastic shear strains in the backfill increase.
In this paper, the finite element method is used to study the evolution of the active earth pressure behind a gravity retaining
wall, as well as the shear patterns developing in the backfill and foundation soil. The analyses relied on use of a two-surface
plasticity constitutive model for sands, which is based on critical-state soil mechanics.
Key words: finite elements, plasticity, retaining walls, sands.
Résumé : La pression active des terres utilisée dans la conception des murs gravitaires est calculée à partir de l’angle de
friction interne du sol ou du remblai retenu. Cependant, l’angle de friction d’un sol change durant le processus de déforma-
tion. Dans le cas d’un chargement drainé, l’angle de friction mobilisé varie entre l’angle de friction au pic et celui à l’état
critique, dépendant du niveau de déformation en cisaillement dans le sol retenu. En conséquence, il n’y a pas de valeur
unique d’angle de friction pour une masse de sol retenue, et le coefficient de pression active des terres varie à mesure que
le mur se sépare du remblai et que les déformations plastiques en cisaillement augmentent dans le remblai. Dans cet article,
la méthode par éléments finis est utilisée pour étudier l’évolution de la pression active des terres derrière un mur de soutène-
ment gravitaire, ainsi que les patrons de cisaillement qui se développent dans le remblai et dans le sol de fondation. Les ana-
lyses sont réalisées à l’aide d’un modèle constitutif de plasticité à deux surfaces pour des sables, qui est basé sur la
mécanique de l’état critique des sols.
Mots‐clés : éléments finis, plasticité, murs de soutènement, sables.
[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Introduction Caquot and Kerisel (1948) produced solutions in tabulated

form, assuming slip surfaces with logarithmic spiral shape.
The active earth pressure acting on the back of a retaining
More recently, Paik and Salgado (2003) estimated the active
wall controls its design. The active earth pressure is ex-
earth pressure behind rigid walls by improving the formula-
pressed as the product of the vertical effective stress s v0 in
tion of Handy (1985), which considers soil arching concepts.
the retained soil mass or backfill1 and the active earth pres-
Limit analysis has also been used to study the active earth
sure coefficient KA. The earliest and simplest methods for the
pressure problem. Rigorous upper bound values for KA estab-
calculation of the active earth pressure for purely frictional
lished by Chen (1975) and Soubra and Macuh (2002) using
backfills are those based on the Coulomb and Rankine theo-
limit analysis are in very close agreement with the values of Ca-
ries. For a backfill with horizontal surface, the Rankine solu-
quot and Kerisel (1948). Sokolovskiĭ (1965) solved the problem
tion is mathematically exact for a vertical and smooth wall
of active and passive earth pressure using the method of charac-
backface. Coulomb’s solution assumes a planar slip surface
teristics. More recently, Lancellotta (2002) provided a rigorous
and is equivalent to an upper bound solution. For a horizon-
lower-bound solution for active pressures in closed form:
tal backfill and a vertical wall backface, Coulomb’s solution

yields cosd
½2 KA ¼ ðcosd
1 þ sinf
½1 KA ¼
cos 2 f pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 2  sin 2 f  sin 2 dÞ e½darcsin ðsind=sinfÞ tanf
cosdf1 þ ½sin ðf þ dÞ sinf=cosdg

Received 21 March 2011. Accepted 26 September 2011. Published at www.nrcresearchpress.com/cgj on 20 December 2011.
D. Loukidis. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus.
R. Salgado. School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1284, USA.
Corresponding author: D. Loukidis (e-mail: loukidis@ucy.ac.cy).
1The paper is not restricted to backfilled walls. To call attention to applicability of the discussion to walls supporting natural ground as

well as completely backfilled walls, the terms “retained soil mass” and “backfill” are used interchangeably throughout.

Can. Geotech. J. 49: 78–97 (2012) doi:10.1139/T11-087 Published by NRC Research Press
Loukidis and Salgado
The upper bound values for KA by Coulomb’s solution,
Chen (1975), and Soubra and Macuh (2002) are very close
to the corresponding lower bound values using Lancellotta’s
equation (eq. [2]); the differences do not exceed 7%. The KA
values by Sokolovskiĭ (1965) lie between the narrow band
defined by these lower and upper bounds.
Lower and upper bounds produced by limit analysis are
valid for perfectly plastic soils following an associated flow
rule (dilatancy angle j equal to the friction angle f). In the
case of materials commonly used for backfills (sands and
gravels), j is significantly lower than f. In fact, the complex-
ity of soil behavior goes beyond the difference between j
and f, as discussed in detail later, but this does not appear
to have been studied in connection with the analysis of re-
taining walls.
Three stability checks are traditionally done in wall design,
namely bearing capacity failure, sliding, and toppling. In es-
sence, these checks deal with assuring vertical, horizontal,
and moment equilibrium of the wall. While these separate
checks are easy for engineers to understand and apply, the
horizontal and moment resistances that the foundation soil
(including any embedment in front of the wall) can provide
to the wall are in fact coupled with the vertical bearing ca-
pacity. For example, toppling failure occurs in theory when
the foundation load eccentricity e becomes greater than one-
half the foundation width B. Unless the wall base is resting
on rock or very stiff soil, the wall foundation will actually
fail due to the excessively high contact pressure at the wall
base caused by large load eccentricity before toppling. In ad-
dition, wall sliding on its base is more likely to have the form
of a shallow one-sided bearing capacity mechanism with a
large horizontal displacement component (Loukidis et al.
2008) rather than pure sliding along the base–soil interface.
This paper aims to investigate the gravity wall–soil interac-
tion and the development of these different failure scenarios
by modeling the soil mechanical behavior in a realistic way
in a series of finite element (FE) analyses. This allows the
development of displacement and stress fields within the soil
that are not constrained by the simplifying assumptions of
perfect plasticity and associativity. These results are useful in
informing design decisions, the most important of which
being how to calculate the active pressures on the backface
of the wall. The FE analyses, which take into account nonas-
sociativity, stress dependence of sand strength and dilatancy,
stress-induced anisotropy, fabric-induced anisotropy, and pro-
gressive failure, focus on the evolution of KA with wall dis-
placement u. This permits establishing the soil friction angle
value that is suitable for the estimation of the design KA
value, which is the one that corresponds to the wall displace-
ment required to bring the wall to an ultimate limit state
(ULS).
Problem statement
Dependence of active earth pressure on wall movement
In methods of analysis currently used in design practice,
the main input for the calculation of KA for purely frictional
backfills is the internal friction angle f of the soil. These
methods, which include the Rankine, Coulomb, and Lancel-
lotta methods discussed earlier, assume that f is constant, i.e.,
its value is the same at all points inside the backfill and
79
does not change as the wall moves. This would be valid
for a very loose backfill, where all soil elements reach fail-
ure directly at critical state (CS), with f equal to the CS
friction angle fc . However, most practical cases involve
backfills consisting of medium dense and dense sands and
gravels, which are strain-softening materials when sheared
under drained conditions, meaning that the mobilized fric-
tion angle of an element of any of these soils will first
reach a peak value fp and then decrease towards fc . Cer-
tain regions inside the backfill mass will fail and start to
soften early in the loading process. The shear strain level
developed in these regions may be large enough for the
friction angle to drop to its CS value fc before the wall
reaches a ULS, while f is close to fp in other regions.
This phenomenon is commonly referred to as progressive
failure. In addition, fp depends strongly on the level of
mean effective stress p′, which varies from point to point
inside the backfill and evolves continuously during wall
movement. It should also be noted that, given that retaining
walls have a much larger length than width, the deformation
of the backfill and foundation soil happens under plane-
strain conditions (so the CS friction angle is the plane-strain
CS friction angle (Loukidis and Salgado 2009)). Given that
the friction angle varies from point to point in the backfill,
the representative f value to be used in KA calculation
methods assuming perfect plasticity and associated flow is
unknown; it cannot be determined precisely based on intu-
ition or judgment.
Let us idealize the gravity wall initial condition as one in
which there has been no horizontal movement; as a result,
the coefficient of lateral earth pressure K is equal to its at-
rest value (K0). If we allow the wall to move away from the
backfill, K first decreases to a minimum value KA, min (point
M in Fig. 1) and then increases to an ultimate (residual)
value KA, cr (point C in Fig. 1). Between points M and C, the
supported soil is in an active state. Point M is associated with
an active state for which the average mobilized f in the sup-
ported soil is closer to fp than fc . Point C is associated with
full mobilization of CS (f ¼ fc ) along all failure surfaces
(shear bands) formed in the retained soil.
To design a wall, we are interested in the value of KA at a
limit state (KA, LS), which is not necessarily equal to either
KA, cr or KA, min. At present, there are two approaches to deter-
mine KA (Salgado 2008), one based on calculations using an
estimate of fp and the other using an estimate of fc . The for-
mer approach, which is most common in practice, would
underpredict the active earth pressure on the wall at the limit
state, making it unconservative. On the other hand, using fc
may be overly conservative, since a well-designed wall would
not move as much as to cause more than 20% shear strain in
the shear bands developing in the backfill before the wall
reaches its limit state (Salgado 2008). The following section
examines in more detail what happens between points M and
C, and what would constitute an appropriately defined ULS
for a gravity wall.
Wall limit state (WLS)
To establish KA, LS, we need first to establish a way to
identify the ultimate WLS. We must stress that, in establish-
ing a limit state, we are unconcerned with what the value of
Published by NRC Research Press
 Wentzel and Ekama

100r i100 200r 100

RAW WASTEWATER WITH SETTLED WASTEWATER
WITH
750 mgCOD/l BEPR 450 mgCOD/l BEPR
0.07 fs,us 180 0.12 fs,us 90
0.15 fs,up 0.04 fs,up
25% RBCOD FRACTION 38% RBCOD FRACTION
80 80 O 160 80
LU
CO CO Additional VSS solids in system
co CO
< treating raw wastewater ie. raw 70
< INERT MASS C 140[ wastewater produces about 100%
CO CO more VSS mass
CO CO (0
> 60 60 > </> 120 60
u, <
o NON POLY-P
z ENDOGENOUS
o MASS S 100f INERT MASS
50

CO
O
a.
40 \ NON POLY-P
40 o
Q.
80 NON POLY-P 40
ACTIVE MASS ENDOGENOUS MASS
O POLY-P O
O ENDOGENOUS ? 5) 60 NON POLY-P
30
MASS O ACTIVE MASS
CL
20 20 O 40 20
?
POLY-P ACTIVE 20 POLY-P ACTIVE POLY-P 10
MASS MASS ENDOG.MASS
1 ' ' I ' ' ' ' 1 ' ' ' i i i i i i i
O1^ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

10 15 20 25 30 0 10 15 20 25 30

SLUDGE AGE (d) SLUDGE AGE (d)

(a) (b)
Figure 3?Percentage composition of VSS mass for nitrification-denitrification systems with B
and (b) settled wastewater.

in Modified Bardenpho?-and Johannesburg-typetor. Accepting zero discharge of nitrate and oxygen to th

systems
(see Figure 4). obic reactor, the influence of the following design parame
the magnitude of phosphorus removal at 20?C is demonst
Anaerobic mass fraction, fxa = (mass of sludge in anaerobic
zone)/(total mass of sludge in system).
Sludge age (Rs),
Series or single anaerobic reactor configuration.
Anaerobic sludge mass fraction (fxa),
The wastewater and system characteristics above affect Total
theinfluent COD (Sti),
Number of anaerobic reactors (N), and
phosphorus removal directly. Indirect effects result from nitri
Raw or settled wastewater.
fication and denitrification, which may affect the nitrate dis
charged to the anaerobic reactor (discussed later). The nitrate
Sludge Age and Anaerobic Mass Fraction. Accepting t
effect, in turn, depends on the temperature, maximum specific
South African raw wastewater characteristics (see abov
growth rate of the nitrifiers, denitrification design of the plant
a COD of 500 mg COD/L, and assuming that no nitrate
(location of anoxic reactors, anoxic mass fractions, theandanaerobic
the s reactor and that a recycle ratio to the an
and a-recycles), and the influent wastewater ratio ofzonetotal
ofKjel
1:1 is present, phosphorus removal versus slud
dahl nitrogen (TKN) to COD (WRC, 1984 and In press). Tem in Figure 5 for a single anaerobic reactor with
is shown
perature also may have a direct influence on BEPR; this0.10,
0.05, has 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25. On the same plots, P rem
not yet been established, but the effect seems to beSti relatively
also is shown. The plots indicate the following:
small (Pilson et al, 1995), provided the aerobic sludge age is
Effect of Rs on phosphorus removal is complex. For a
sufficient to sustain the poly-P organisms. The effect of washout
of poly-P organisms is not included in the steady-stateof less than 3 days, the phosphorus removal increases
model
of Wentzel et al (1990), so that a minimum aerobic sludge an increase
age in Rs; however, for an Rs of greater th
to maintain BEPR at a specific temperature (Marnais and days,
Jenphosphorus removal decreases with an incre
kins, 1992) cannot be determined with the model. Rs. The reason for this is that increase in Rs cause
Zero Discharge of Oxygen and Nitrate to Anaerobic increase
Reac in the system's ordinary heterotrophic activ

November/December 1997 1225

Wentzel and Ekama

a-recycle **u 0.04

O
O
?
?>
s-recycle
0.03 E
(a) 5-stage Modified Bardenpho system CL
r-recycle a-recycle r-recycle a-recycle CD
g
s-recycle s-recycle
0.02 ?
g
(b) UCT system (c) Modified UCT system
1 Anaerobic
J
LL
a-recycle
10 Stl=1000mgCOD/l 0.01 i|
fs)U8=0.07 s
fs,up=0.15 LU
s-recycle 0< iANOXIC

fs,b,=0.25
(d) Johannesburg (JHB) system
uslEROBIC

0
Q.

Figure 4?Schematic layout of various South African
NDBEPR activated-sludge systems.
mass, which in turn causes an increase in the F-RBCOD
conversion and, therefore, an increase in phosphorus re
lease and phosphorus uptake. However, the increased Rs
also causes a decrease in phosphorus uptake because of the
lower poly-P organism active biomass (and its associated
phosphorus content) wasted per day. At an Rs of less than 3
days, the former effect dominates the phosphorus removal,
while at an Rs of greater than 3 days, the latter dominates,
giving rise to the shape of the curve. The latter effect?
that is, the decrease in poly-P active mass wasted per day
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
SLUDGE AGE (d)
Figure 6?Predicted phosphorus rem
age for various fxa for a single anae
receiving unsettled wastewater of 1
characteristics as shown.
the poly-P organisms (0.04/day) be the
ordinary heterotrophs (0.24/day), virtu
be obtained. From the plots, for desig
an optimum Rs would be 3 to 5 days
nitrification is obligatory, such short R

with increase in sludge age?would be crucially affected sible, and Rs values greater than 10 to 1
by the specific endogenous mass loss rate of the poly-P depending on unaerated mass fraction
organism mass; should the endogenous mass loss rate of nitrifier maximum specific growth r
In press).
The effect of fxa on phosphorus removal also is shown in
20 0.04 Figure 5. For a selected Rs, an increase \nfxa gives rise to
an increase in phosphorus removal. This results from the
increased conversion of F-RBCOD to SCFA with larger
anaerobic mass fractions because of the increased ordinary
15 heterotrophic active biomass in the anaerobic reactor. The
Q. improvement in phosphorus removal, however, diminishes
O)
E with each step increase in fxa because of the first-order
nature of the conversion kinetics. From the plot, with a

2 10
o
single anaerobic reactor one should select an fxa greater
than 0.15, but the increase in phosphorus removal forfxa
s greater than 0.20 does not seem warranted.
ai 1 Anaerobic
Influent Chemical Oxygen Demand. In Figure 6, plots similar
S?=500mgCOD/l
to those in Figure 5 are given, except that Sti is 1 000 mg
fs,?.=0.07 COD/L. To assist comparison between the different Sti values,
fs,up=0.15 the right axis is given as P removal/^. Comparing Figures 5
fsh.=0.25
and 6, it is evident that with an increase in Sti, phosphorus
^0 removal efficiency (that is, P removal/^,) increases. This is
10 15 20 25 30
because of the increased RBCOD conversion efficiency with
SLUDGE AGE (d) increased Sti as a result of higher ordinary heterotrophic active
biomasses.
Figure 5?Predicted phosphorus removal versus sludge Subdivision of fxa. The effect of subdividing the anaerobic
age for various fxa for a single anaerobic reactor system
reactor is shown in Figure 7. The plot is similar to that of
receiving unsettled wastewater of 500 mg COD/L, with Figure 5, but with the anaerobic zone subdivided into two equal
characteristics as shown. reactors. Comparing the phosphorus removal behavior in Fig

1226 Water Environment Research, Volume 69, Number 7

 Wentzel and Ekama

20 0.04

^15f
O) I
E

? 10l O
5 S
lu r LU 1 Anaerobic
oc I
Q. S[ CL 6 Stl=600mgCOD/l 0.01 ^
fs,u,=0.12 S
fs,up=0.04 UJ
ce
fs>b8=0.38 CL
0L
0 10 15 20 25 30
SLUDGE AGE (d) SLUDGE AGE (d)
Figure 7?Predicted phosphorus removal versusFiguresludge8?Predicted phosphorus removal versus sludge
agereactor
age for various fxa for a two-in-series anaerobic for various fxa for a single anaerobic reactor system
system receiving unsettled wastewater of 500 mg receiving
COD/ settled wastewater of 600 mg COD/L, with
characteristics
L, with characteristics as shown (see Figure 5 for single as shown (see Figure 6 for original unset
anaerobic reactor system). tled wastewater). Note that for P removal/Sfl, the Sti re
fers to the settled wastewater.

ures 5 and 7, series operation of the anaerobic zone significantly

improves the phosphorus removal. This improvement al,is1990; L?tter and Pitman, 1992; Pitman, 1995; Pitman et
caused
by the increased RBCOD conversion with in-series al, 1983 and 1992; and Rabinowitz and Oldham, 1985).
anaerobic
Effect
reactor operation as a result of the first-order nature of theof Influent Readily Biodegradable Chemical Oxy
conversion kinetics. A comparison (not shown) between
gen single,
Demand Fraction. Assuming zero discharge of nitrate to
two-in-series, and four-in-series anaerobic reactorsthe
indicates
anaerobic reactor, the effect of the influent RBCOD fraction
that the main improvement is from single to two-in-series reac
(fs,bS = SbsiISbi, where Sbsi is the readily biodegradable influent
tors. For design, at least two equally sized in-seriesCOD)
anaerobic
is illustrated in Figure 9, where theoretical phosphorus
reactors should be used. removals are plotted versus fs,bs for a system with two in-series
Settled and Unsettled Influent. The effect of wastewater set
anaerobic reactors, Rs (20 days) and/xa, and wastewater charac
tling on phosphorus removal is illustrated in Figureteristics
8, where as shown. Clearly, for a selected/^, as the RBCOD
phosphorus removal is shown plotted against sludge age for
various fxa for a wastewater that has an original Sti of 1 000 mg
COD/L and is subject to primary sedimentation, to give a settled
wastewater with strength 600 mg COD/L. Comparing the phos
phorus removal for the original unsettled waste (Figure 6) with
that for the settled waste (Figure 8), it is evident that settling
will reduce the phosphorus removal by the system. This reduc
tion results from the decrease in the mass of biodegradable
COD entering the activated-sludge system, which causes a re
duction in the ordinary heterotrophic active biomass and, hence,
both the RBCOD conversion efficiency and phosphorus removal
because the ordinary heterotrophs are reduced. However, phos
phorus removal per influent COD entering the biological reactor
is higher for the settled than for the unsettled wastewater (this
is apparent from Figures 6 and 8 by comparing the P removal/
Sti on the right-hand axes), and the phosphorus content of the
VSS mass is higher (see Figure 1). This arises because the ratio
Sbsi/Sti is higher for settled than for unsettled wastewater. (It
RBCOD FRACTION (fs,bs=Sbsi/Sbi)
should be noted that it is assumed no Sbsi is lost in settling; this
Figure
will not be strictly correct, but the Sbsi loss in settling seems9?Predicted
to phosphorus removal versus RBCOD
be minimal). Further, inclusion of primary settlingfraction
tanks infor various fxa for a two-in-series anaerobic reactor
system
the design allows the option of SCFA generation from at 20 days sludge age, receiving unsettled wastewa
acid
fermentation of the primary sludge (Barnard, 1984;ter of 500
Lilley etmg COD/L, and with characteristics as shown.

November/December 1997 1227

Wentzel and Ekama

12.0 12.0 1.0

RAW WASTEWATER
0.07 fs,us
0.15 fs,up
10.0 25% RBCOD
?
O
?
? 8.0
MO
C/>
(O
H.
CO
6.0
tn
>
(o
<
2 4.0
LU
O
o
?I
(O
2.0

FA - Fully aerobic
0.0 i I_i I 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 30

SLUDGE AGE (d) SLUDGE AGE (d)

(a) (b)
Figure 10?Approximate masses of volatile solids (MXV), total solids (MXt), and daily carbonaceous oxygen demand
(MOc) per kilogram COD load on the biological reactor in fully aerobic (FA) and BEPR activated-sludge systems treating
(a) raw and (b) unsettled wastewaters.

fraction (fs,bs) increases, the phosphorus removal also increases.
In design, one option to improve phosphorus removal is supple
mentation of influent RBCOD by, for example, acid fermenta
tion of primary sludge, allowing high-RBCOD wastewater into
the sewer or dosing it into the anaerobic reactor (see Figure 2).
Influence of Biological Excess Phosphorus Removal on
Volatile and Total Suspended Solids, Oxygen Demand,
and Bioreactor Volume
The model of Wentzel et al (1990) enables the VSS and total
suspended solids (TSS) of the mixed liquor to be calculated.
A comparison of the mass of VSS and TSS generated and
carbonaceous oxygen demand, with and without BEPR, per
kilogram COD load on the bioreactor versus sludge age is
shown in Figures 10a and 10b for raw and settled wastewaters,
respectively, with characteristics as shown: BEPR system with
two in-series anaerobic reactors, a total anaerobic mass fraction
(fxa) of 15%, and no nitrate recycled to the anaerobic zone. Both
systems are at 20?C. From this comparison it is evident that
including BEPR in the activated-sludge system increases the
VSS only slightly, by approximately 5 to 12% and 15 to 25%
for raw and settled wastewaters, respectively (depending on
sludge age). This increase in VSS results from the lower endog
enous mass loss/death rate of the poly-P organisms (0.04/day
at 20?C) compared to that of ordinary heterotrophs (0.24/day at
20?C). However, the TSS is increased substantially, by approxi
mately 20 to 25% and 45 to 55% for raw and settled waste wa
ters, respectively (depending on sludge age). This higher TSS
production results from the large quantities of stored inorganic
poly-P and the associated inorganic cations necessary to stabi
lize the poly-P chains, principally Mg2+ and K+ (Arvin, 1985;
Comeau et al, 1986; Fukase et al, 1982; and Wentzel et al,
1989). The high inorganic content of the poly-P organism active
biomass causes their VSS/TSS ratios to be much lower than that
of the ordinary heterotrophs, 0.46 mg VSS/mg TSS compared to
0.75 to 0.85 mg VSS/mg TSS. Thus, the higher the poly-P
organism fraction of the mixed liquor is, the higher is the BEPR
and the lower is the VSS/TSS ratio of the mixed liquor.
The increase in TSS with the inclusion of BEPR must be
taken into account in the design of the bioreactor volume and
daily sludge production. Also, because the inorganic cations
that stabilize the poly-P are derived from the influent wastewa
ter, there must be sufficient concentrations of these cations in the
influent; if not, the BEPR may be adversely affected (Lindrea et
al, 1994, and Wentzel et al, 1988b). Further, because the VSS
mass generated per kilogram COD load is greater with BEPR
than without, the oxygen demand with BEPR is correspondingly
lower, by approximately 5 to 6% and 8 to 9% for raw and
settled wastewaters, respectively (depending on sludge age; see
Figures 10a and 10b).

1228 Water Environment Research, Volume 69, Number 7

 Wentzel and Ekama

15 0.03 the bulk liquid but are able to use it for energy and growth with
Q the oxygen or nitrate as the external electron acceptor. For every
O
? 1 mg O and 1 mg N03~-N recycled to the anaerobic reactor, 3
O)
E and 8.6 mg COD, respectively, are used. Consequently,
CL allowing oxygen and/or nitrate to enter the anaerobic reactor
0.02 O)
? reduces the mass of SCFA available to the poly-P organisms
and correspondingly reduces phosphorus removal.
?
O
2 O
?
From Figure 11, when the nitrate concentration in the recycle
exceeds approximately 11 mg N/L, the phosphorus removal
lu 5 Rs =20d 0.01 z? remains constant at approximately 3 mg P/L. For this condition,
Sti=500mgCOD/l
all of the influent RBCOD for this wastewater is denitrified by
fs,u.=0.07
fs,up=0.15
ordinary heterotrophs, with the result that no SCFAs are re
UJ
fSh(=0.25 K
leased and no COD is available to the poly-P organisms, and
Q.
0 BEPR no longer takes place. The phosphorus removal obtained
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 results from wastage of sludge with "normal" metabolic phos
phorus content (0.03 mg P/mg VSS). If the influent RBCOD
NITRATE CONC. IN RECYCLE (mgN/l)
concentration increases or decreases, the mass of nitrate recy
Figure 11?Predicted phosphorus removal versus ni completely consumes the RBCOD will increase or
cled that
trate concentration in recycle to anaerobic (recycle ratio
decrease correspondingly to more than or less than 11 mg N/L
1:1) for various fxa for a two-in-series anaerobic reactor
(provided the recycle ratio remains unchanged).
system at 20 days sludge age, receiving unsettled waste
From this discussion it is clear that one of the principal orien
water of 500 mg COD/L, and with characteristics asany design for BEPR is to prevent oxygen entrainment
tations in
shown. and recycling of nitrate to the anaerobic reactor. In South Africa,
where nitrification is obligatory, a number of system configura
tions have been developed specifically to prevent oxygen en
Interactions between Biological Excess Phosphorus trainment and nitrate recycling by incorporating complete deni
Removal and Nitrification and Denitrification trification or passing the underflow recycle through anoxic
In the preceding section, the influences of various system zones before discharge to the anaerobic reactor (Figure 4). Fur
parameters on BEPR were described in isolation. For situations ther, to prevent nitrate recycling to the anaerobic reactor, accu
in which nitrification is included in the system (for example rate quantification of the denitrification is essential, at the same
in South Africa, where nitrification is obligatory), the use of time giving the nitrogen removal that can be achieved.
denitrification also is imperative for protection of the anaerobic Denitrification in Biological Excess Phosphorus Removal
reactor from nitrate recycling (see below) and for alkalinity and Systems. Including an anaerobic reactor for BEPR in the acti
oxygen demand recoveries (WRC, 1984). In this instance the vated-sludge system significantly influences the denitrification
processes of nitrification, denitrification, and BEPR are con in the anoxic reactor (Clayton et al, 1991):
strained to take place in an integrated single-sludge activated
sludge system. In such a system, for the design for BEPR the Because the system is designed to make virtually all the
requirements for nitrification and denitrification must be recog influent RBCOD available to the poly-P organisms in the
anaerobic reactor, the RBCOD is not available in the an
nized. To ensure nitrification at the minimum temperature, there
oxic reactor for denitrification, so the fast rate of denitrifi
is a requirement for a combination of minimum sludge age and
aerobic mass fraction; for denitrification, one requirement is cation with RBCOD (KO does not occur (WRC, 1984).
for anoxic mass fraction (WRC, 1984). Consequently, in the The rate of denitrification on the SBCOD is significantly
integrated system, the design parameters for BEPR (for exam higher than in systems that do not include an anaerobic
ple, sludge age and anaerobic mass fraction) cannot be changed reactor, approximately 2.5 times in primary anoxic reactors
ad hoc. Apart from these indirect interactions, there are direct
and 1.5 times in secondary anoxic reactors.
interactions between BEPR and nitrification-denitrification and
From extensive research into causes for the second item
vice versa. These are described below.
above, Clayton et al concluded that the increased denitrification
Influence on Biological Excess Phosphorus Removal of rate did not result from
Recycling Nitrate and Oxygen to the Anaerobic Reactor.
The influence of nitrate recycled to the anaerobic reactor is Denitrification by poly-P organisms. For the systems inves
illustrated in Figure 11, where theoretical phosphorus removals tigated, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and phosphorus mea
are plotted versus nitrate concentration recycled for a system surements indicated that the poly-P organisms did not deni
with two in-series anaerobic reactors, recycle ratio of 1:1, Rs of trify.
20 days, and fxa and wastewater characteristics as shown. It Modification of the wastewater in the anaerobic zone.
is evident that recycling of nitrate has a markedly deleterious Wastewater that had not passed through an anaerobic zone
influence on the magnitude of phosphorus removal (in agree induced the same denitrification response as wastewater
ment with numerous experimental observations); as the nitrate that had passed through an anaerobic zone.
concentration recycled to the anaerobic reactor increases, the
phosphorus removal decreases, for reasons set out below. The above observations led Clayton et al to hypothesize that
If oxygen and/or nitrate is recycled to the anaerobic reactor, the increased rate resulted from the stimulation in the activated
the ordinary heterotrophic organisms no longer reject SCFA to sludge mass of an increased SBCOD hydrolysis/utilization in

November/December 1997 1229

Wentzel and Ekama
the anoxic reactors of BEPR systems compared to non-BEPR
systems. These new denitrification kinetics are in the process
of being incorporated into the UCT steady-state design models.
One difficulty that may arise is that, on occasion, significant
phosphorus uptake in anoxic zones has been observed (for ex
ample, by Wentzel et al, 1990, and by Kerrn-Jespersen and
Henze, 1993); that is, poly-P organisms do denitrify. Biochemi
cal assays (L?tter, 1985) confirm that some poly-P organisms
have the ability to denitrify; anaerobic-anoxic BEPR systems
have been operated successfully (Kuba et al, 1993). At present,
no conclusive judgment can be made as to what conditions will
induce the presence of denitrifying poly-P organisms in the
anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic activated-sludge system and what
impact this will have on the amount of denitrification. However,
for the purpose of BEPR design, it would seem that the magni
tude of phosphorus uptake is independent of whether nitrate or
oxygen serves as the external electron acceptor (Kerrn-Jesper
sen and Henze, 1993).
Filamentous Organism Bulking. Casey et al (1992 and
1994) and Musvoto et al ( 1994) have demonstrated that when
denitrification in the anoxic reactor preceding the aerobic reac
tor is incomplete (that is, N03~ and N02" leak from the anoxic
to aerobic reactors), then the anoxic-aerobic (AA, previously
called low-F/M) filaments (for example, M. Parvicella, 0092,
0041, 0675) proliferate to cause bulking with diluted sludge
volume indices (DSVIs) in excess of 200 mL/g; if denitrification
is complete, then good sludge settleabilities are obtained with
DSVIs less than 100 mL/g. A detailed explanation for these
observations is given by Casey et al (1992 and 1994).
The implications of the above observations are significant in that
any factor that influences the degree of denitrification in the anoxic
zones prior to the aerobic zones, such as wastewater temperature,
influent TKN/COD ratio, primary sedimentation, anoxic mass frac
tion, and mixed liquor recycle ratio, will influence the AA filament
proliferation and DSVI. Further, because the A A filament prolifera
tion is influenced by the denitrification performance of the system,
the denitrification kinetics must be accurately delineated.
Closure
The magnitude of BEPR will be determined by the percent
phosphorus content of the mixed liquor and the sludge wastage.
For accurate estimations of BEPR, the phosphorus content of
the mixed liquor must be calculated for every wastewater and
system design; it cannot be empirically assumed. For this calcu
lation, a steady-state model (Wentzel et al, 1990) based on the
present understanding of the mechanisms of BEPR is available.
The model indicates that, in agreement with observations, pre
vention of nitrate recycling to the anaerobic reactor is one of
the principal factors in BEPR design. Further, in terms of the
model and again in agreement with observations, the character
istics of the influent wastewater have a major influence on the
magnitude of BEPR, in particular the RBCOD fraction (the
upper limit to BEPR will be constrained by the magnitude of
RBCOD in the influent). With regard to system design parame
ters, the main ones are anaerobic mass fraction and its subdivi
sion and sludge age: at greater than 3 days, the shorter the
sludge age and the larger the anaerobic mass fraction, the better
the phosphorus removal will be. However, in an integrated
NDBEPR system, these parameters cannot be changed ad hoc.
To ensure nitrification, there is a requirement of a minimum
aerobic mass fraction and sludge age, and for denitrification, a
minimum anoxic mass fraction.
Acknowledgments
Credits. This research was supported jointly by the Water
Research Commission and the Foundation for Research Devel
opment of South Africa and is published with their permission.
Authors. Mark C. Wentzel is an associate professor and
George A. Ekama is Chair of Water Quality Engineering, both
in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of
Cape Town, South Africa. Correspondence should be addressed
to Mark Wentzel, Department of Civil Engineering, University
of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, Cape Town, South Africa.
Submitted for publication March 18, 1996; revised manu
script submitted July 24, 1996; accepted for publication July
26, 1996.
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Biological
Nutrient
Removal
Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency 520 Lafayette Rd N
St. Paul, MN 55155-4194
www.pca.state.mn.us
wq-wwtp8-21

651-296-6300
Toll free 800-657-3864

August 2011
 Authors
Kay Curtin

Steve Duerre

Brian Fitzpatrick

Pam Meyer

Editing and Graphic Design

Nancy Ellefson

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency acknowledges with appreciation the

Water Environment Federation and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
for use of their information on biological and chemical phosphorus removal in this manual.

Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper

manufactured without chlorine or chlorine derivatives.
Table of contents
Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Glossary of Nutrient Removal Terms ......................................................................................................... 3-8
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 9-13
Nitrogen removal ................................................................................................................................... 13-17
Phosphorus removal .............................................................................................................................. 18-24
Monitoring and process control analyses .............................................................................................. 25-38
India ink stain for exocellular lipopolysaccharides ..................................................................................... 37
Calculations for biological nitrogen and phosphosphorus removal ...................................................... 39-42
Optimization and troubleshooting guides ............................................................................................. 43-61
Guide #1: Loadings ............................................................................................................................... 44
Guide #2: Aeration/mixing – diffused aeration.................................................................................... 49
Guide #3: Aeration/mixing – mechanical ............................................................................................. 51
Guide#4: Biomass inventory................................................................................................................. 53
Guide #5: Clarifier operation ................................................................................................................ 55
Guide #6: Internal recycle .................................................................................................................... 57
Guide #7: pH/alkalinity ......................................................................................................................... 58
Guide #8: Toxicity ................................................................................................................................. 59
Guide #9: Sudden loss of chemical phosphorus removal .................................................................... 60
Guide#10: Gradual loss of chemical phosphorus removal ................................................................... 61
References for biological nutrient removal ................................................................................................ 62
Chemical phosphorus removal ................................................................................................................... 63
MPCA Wastewater Contacts ..................................................................................................................... 699
Tables 1-11
Table 1: Phosphorus in domestic wastewater ..................................................................................... 18
Table 2: Optimum dissolved oxygen levels in zones ............................................................................ 28
Table 3: Desired conditions and millivolt meter readings by zone ...................................................... 33
Table 4: Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater reference methods ........ 35
Table 5: Suggested daily process control calculations for optimum BNR ............................................ 36
Table 6: Process control parameters .................................................................................................... 38
Table 7: Possible sources of nutrients and nutrient removal problems .............................................. 42
Table 8: Characteristics of frequently used phosphorus removal chemicals....................................... 63
Table 9: Chemical information ............................................................................................................. 64
Table 10: Advantages and disadvantages of different addition points................................................ 66
Table 11: Weight ratios for commonly used metal salts ...................................................................... 67

Biological Nutrient Removal | Contents 1

Acronyms
Nitrogen Phosphorus
N Elemental form of nitrogen P Elemental form of phosphorus
N₂ Atmospheric nitrogen (nitrogen gas) PO₄³⁻ Orthophosphate
NO₂⁻ Nitrite TP Total phosphorus
NO₃⁻N Nitrate H3PO4 Phosphoric acid
NOx Oxidized forms of nitrogen (nitrate & nitrite)
NH₃⁻ Ammonia nitrogen
NH₄⁺ Ammonium
TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

Other chemicals
O₂ Oxygen
NaOH Sodium hydroxide
H₂SO₄ Sulfuric acid
F₃Cl₃ Ferric chloride
NaOCl Sodium hypochlorite
Cl₂ Chlorine

Process control Other

BNR Biological nutrient removal NPDES National Pollution Discharge
BOD Biochemical oxygen demand Elimination System
CBOD Carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand
COD Chemical oxygen demand
DO Dissolved oxygen
HRT Hydraulic retention time
MLSS Mixed liquor suspended solids
MLVSS Mixed liquor volatile suspended solids
ORP Oxidation reduction potential
PAO Phosphorus accumulating organisms
RAS Return activated sludge
SBOD Soluble biochemical oxygen demand
SRT Solids retention time
SVI Sludge volume index
TDS Total dissolved solids
TS Total solids
TSS Total suspended solids
VS Volatile solids
VSS Volatile suspended solids
WAS Waste activated sludge

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