scholarly journals Methodology for Energy Optimization in Wastewater Treatment Plants. Phase I: Control of the Best Operating Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Belén Lozano Avilés ◽  
Francisco del Cerro Velázquez ◽  
Mercedes Llorens Pascual del Riquelme

Most purification systems work correctly from the point of view of water quality; purification, like any industrial process, must also be carried out efficiently with a minimization of costs. The overall project examined the potential benefits of using a recommended methodology for process evaluation and energy optimization in the aeration stage of activated sludge in the biological reactor at wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), which accounts for more than 44% of total operating costs. This energy control methodology encompasses the process, the installation and the control system. These three phases are examined in separate articles to make it easier to guide the user in the arduous task of optimizing energy efficiency of the WWTP from start to finish. This article focuses on Phase I of the methodology, the stage in charge of selecting the correct variables to control the best process conditions in the activated sludge system of the WWTP. Operating conditions that are a function of the recommended sludge age are influenced by exogenous factors such as temperature. The implementation of a real-time control system of the selected process variables, adapted to the needs, achieves reductions in the overall energy consumption of the installation, in this phase alone, of more than 15%, by reducing the oxygen requirements of the system and the recirculation ratios.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Kyung Kim ◽  
Keunje Yoo ◽  
Min Sung Kim ◽  
Il Han ◽  
Minjoo Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) affect plant functionality through their role in the removal of pollutants from wastewater. Bacterial communities vary extensively based on plant operating conditions and influent characteristics. The capacity of WWTPs can also affect the bacterial community via variations in the organic or nutrient composition of the influent. Despite the importance considering capacity, the characteristics that control bacterial community assembly are largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that bacterial communities in WWTPs in Korea and Vietnam, which differ remarkably in capacity, exhibit unique structures and interactions that are governed mainly by the capacity of WWTPs. Bacterial communities were analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and exhibited clear differences between the two regions, with these differences being most pronounced in activated sludge. We found that capacity contributed the most to bacterial interactions and community structure, whereas other factors had less impact. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that microorganisms from high-capacity WWTPs are more interrelated than those from low-capacity WWTPs, which corresponds to the tighter clustering of bacterial communities in Korea. These results will contribute to the understanding of bacterial community assembly in activated sludge processing.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Queinnec ◽  
D. Dochain

This paper discusses the steady-state modelling of thickening in circular secondary settlers of activated sludge processes. The limitations of the solid flux theory basic models to represent steady-state operating conditions serve as a basis to introduce more sophisticated models derived from computational fluid dynamics. Parameter identification and sensitivity studies have been performed from lab-scale continuous experiments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 2337-2349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato P. Ribeiro ◽  
Rodrigo F. Bueno ◽  
Roque P. Piveli ◽  
Débora C. Kligerman ◽  
William Z. de Mello ◽  
...  

Abstract The continuous measurements of N2O emissions from the aeration tanks of three activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) operated with biological nitrogen removal (BNR) and non-BNR were performed during the different operating conditions of several parameters, such as aeration, dissolved oxygen (DO) profiling and organic shock loading (with landfill leachate). The nitrification process is the main driving force behind N2O emission peaks. There are indications that the variation of the air flow rate influenced N2O emissions; high N2O emissions denote over-aeration conditions or incomplete nitrification, with accumulation of NO2− concentrations. Thus, continuous measurements of N2O emissions can provide information on aeration adequacy and the efficiency of complete nitrification, with major focus on DO control, in order to reduce N2O emissions. An additional concern is the observed propensity of WWTPs in developing countries to receive landfill leachates in their wastewater systems. This practice could have adverse effects on climate change, since wastewater treatment during periods of organic shock loading emitted significantly higher amounts of N2O than without organic shock loading. In short, non-BNR WWTPs are subject to high N2O emissions, in contrast to BNR WWTP with controlled nitrification and denitrification processes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 796-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Ruano ◽  
J. Ribes ◽  
A. Seco ◽  
J. Ferrer

This paper presents a computer tool called DSC (Simulation based Controllers Design) that enables an easy design of control systems and strategies applied to wastewater treatment plants. Although the control systems are developed and evaluated by simulation, this tool aims to facilitate the direct implementation of the designed control system to the PC of the full-scale WWTP (wastewater treatment plants). The designed control system can be programmed in a dedicated control application and can be connected to either the simulation software or the SCADA of the plant. To this end, the developed DSC incorporates an OPC server (OLE for process control) which facilitates an open-standard communication protocol for different industrial process applications. The potential capabilities of the DSC tool are illustrated through the example of a full-scale application. An aeration control system applied to a nutrient removing WWTP was designed, tuned and evaluated with the DSC tool before its implementation in the full scale plant. The control parameters obtained by simulation were suitable for the full scale plant with only few modifications to improve the control performance. With the DSC tool, the control systems performance can be easily evaluated by simulation. Once developed and tuned by simulation, the control systems can be directly applied to the full-scale WWTP.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 253-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Paxéus

The removal of commonly used pharmaceuticals (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, gemfibrozil, carbamazepine, atenolol, metoprolol and trimethoprim) and a biocide (triclosan) in operating wastewater treatment plants in five EU countries has been studied. Under normal operating conditions the acidic drugs and triclosan were partially removed with removal rates varying from ca. 20 to >95%. The highest removal rate was found for ibuprofen and triclosan (>90%) followed by naproxen (80%), gemfibrozil (55%) and diclofenac (39%). Ibuprofen undergoes an oxidative transformation to corresponding hydroxy- and carboxy- metabolites, which contributes to its high removal rate. Disturbances in the activated sludge process resulted in lower removal rates for all acidic drugs, mostly for diclofenac (<10% removed) but also for ibuprofen (<60% removed). The treatment of wastewaters by activated sludge usually did not result in any practical removal (<10%) of neutral carbamazepine or basic atenolol, metoprolol and trimethoprim. The removal rates of the investigated drugs and triclosan are discussed in terms of mechanisms responsible for their removal. Discharges of carbamazepine, diclofenac, gemfibrozil, naproxen, triclosan and trimethoprim from WWTPs to the aquatic environment, expressed as the average concentration in the effluent and the daily discharged quantity per person served by WWTPs were assessed.


Author(s):  
Hisashi Satoh ◽  
Yukari Kashimoto ◽  
Naoki Takahashi ◽  
Takashi Tsujimura

A deep learning-based two-label classifier 1 recognized a 20% morphological change in the activated flocs. Classifier-2 quantitatively recognized an abundance of filamentous bacteria in activated flocs.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 223-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Clauss ◽  
Christel Balavoine ◽  
Delphine Hélaine ◽  
Gaëtan Martin

Forest industry wastewaters are difficult to clean: hydraulic and organic load variations, filamentous bulking or pin-point flocs negatively impact depollution processes. The addition of a fine, mineral, talc-based powder, Aquatal, into the aeration tanks of wastewater treatment plants connected to pulp and paper factories has been successfully tested since end of '97. The first case-study presents full results obtained over a period of 18 months in a 20,000 p.e. plant connected to a paper factory. The mineral powder was regularly added to control sludge volume index, thereby ensuring low suspended solids concentration in the outfluent. Plant operators could easily adapt biomass concentration to match organic load variation, thereby maintaining pollution micro-organisms ratio constant. In a second case study, a trouble-shooting strategy was implemented to counteract filamentous bulking. A one-off, large dosage enabled the plant operator to deal effectively with poor settleability sludge and rapidly control sludge blanket expansion. In both cases, the main common characteristics observed were an increase in floc aggregation and the production of heavier and well-structured flocs. The sludge settling velocity increased and an efficient solid/liquid separation was obtained. After a few days, the mineral particles of Aquatal were progressively integrated into the sludge floc structure. When the mineral powder was added to the activated sludge in the aeration basin, chemical interactions frequently encountered with other wastewater treatment additives did not pose a problem. Moreover, with this mineral additive, the biological excess sludge displayed good thickening properties and dewatering was improved. Despite the addition of the insoluble mineral particles, the amount of wet sludge expelled did not increase. Aquatal offers a rapid solution to floc settleability problems which so frequently arise when physical or biological disorders appear in forest industry wastewater treatment plants.


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