PMID- 17978436 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20080226 LR - 20071105 IS - 0273-1223 (Print) IS - 0273-1223 (Linking) VI - 56 IP - 8 DP - 2007 TI - Comparing global sensitivity analysis for a biofilm model for two-step nitrification using the qualitative screening method of Morris or the quantitative variance-based Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test (FAST). PG - 85-93 AB - Two different methods for global sensitivity analysis were compared exemplarily for a biofilm model for two-step nitrification. Especially for biofilm models, local sensitivity analysis is not very useful as parameters can vary over a large range. Parameters that were evaluated included kinetic and stoichiometric parameters, and also biofilm parameters, such as internal and external mass transfer, the biofilm thickness, and the biomass density. Global sensitivity analyses were performed for a range of operating conditions of a biofilm reactor. The results of the qualitative screening method of Morris were compared with the results of the quantitative variance-based method FAST regarding the input parameters indicated as unimportant. Both methods resulted in similar sets of parameters with a small influence on the model output, but the screening method of Morris required a much smaller number of model evaluations to compute the sensitivity measures than the FAST method. FAU - Brockmann, D AU - Brockmann D AD - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. FAU - Morgenroth, E AU - Morgenroth E LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. PL - England TA - Water Sci Technol JT - Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research JID - 9879497 RN - 0 (Nitrites) RN - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical) SB - IM MH - *Biofilms MH - Bioreactors MH - *Models, Theoretical MH - Nitrites/*metabolism MH - Sensitivity and Specificity MH - Waste Disposal, Fluid/*methods MH - Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis EDAT- 2007/11/06 09:00 MHDA- 2008/02/27 09:00 CRDT- 2007/11/06 09:00 PHST- 2007/11/06 09:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2008/02/27 09:00 [medline] PHST- 2007/11/06 09:00 [entrez] AID - 10.2166/wst.2007.600 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Water Sci Technol. 2007;56(8):85-93. doi: 10.2166/wst.2007.600.