A knowledge management methodology for the integrated assessment of WWTP configurations during conceptual design

2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Garrido-Baserba ◽  
R. Reif ◽  
I. Rodriguez-Roda ◽  
M. Poch

The current complexity involved in wastewater management projects is arising as the XXI century sets new challenges leading towards a more integrated plant design. In this context, the growing number of innovative technologies, stricter legislation and the development of new methodological approaches make it difficult to design appropriate flow schemes for new wastewater projects. Thus, new tools are needed for the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) conceptual design using integrated assessment methods in order to include different types of objectives at the same time i.e. environmental, economical, technical, and legal. Previous experiences used the decision support system (DSS) methodology to handle the specific issues related to wastewater management, for example, the design of treatment facilities for small communities. However, tools developed for addressing the whole treatment process independently of the plant size, capable of integrating knowledge from many different areas, including both conventional and innovative technologies are not available. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present and describe an innovative knowledge-based methodology that handles the conceptual design of WWTP process flow-diagrams (PFDs), satisfying a vast number of different criteria. This global approach is based on a hierarchy of decisions that uses the information contained in knowledge bases (KBs) with the aim of automating the generation of suitable WWTP configurations for a specific scenario. Expert interviews, legislation, specialized literature and engineering experience have been integrated within the different KBs, which indeed constitute one of the main highlights of this work. Therefore, the methodology is presented as a valuable tool which provides customized PFD for each specific case, taking into account process unit interactions and the user specified requirements and objectives.

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vollertsen ◽  
T. Hvitved-Jacobsen ◽  
Z. Ujang ◽  
S.A. Talib

Sewer system design must be integrated with wastewater treatment plant design when moving towards a more sustainable urban wastewater management. This integration allows an optimization of the design of both systems to achieve a better and more cost-effective wastewater management. Hitherto integrated process design has not been an option because the tools to predict in-sewer wastewater transformations have been inadequate. In this study the WATS model - being a new and validated tool for in-sewer microbial process simulations - is presented and its application for integrated sewer and treatment plant design is exemplified. A case study on a Malaysian catchment illustrates this integration. The effects of centralization of wastewater treatment and the subsequently longer transport distances are addressed. The layout of the intercepting sewer is optimized to meet the requirements of different treatment scenarios.


2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Coulton ◽  
Chris Bullen ◽  
John Dolan ◽  
Clive Hallett ◽  
Jim Wright ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Manuszak ◽  
M. MacPhee ◽  
S. Liskovich ◽  
L. Feldsher

The City of Baltimore, Maryland is one of many US cities faced with challenges related to increasing potable water demands, diminishing fresh water supplies, and aging infrastructure. To address these challenges, the City recently undertook a $7M study to evaluate water supply and treatment alternatives and develop the conceptual design for a new 120 million gallon per day (MGD) water treatment plant. As part of this study, an innovative raw water management tool was constructed to help model source water availability and predicted water quality based on integration of a new and more challenging surface water supply. A rigorous decision-making approach was then used to screen and select appropriate treatment processes. Short-listed treatment strategies were demonstrated through a year-long pilot study, and process design criteria were collected in order to assess capital and operational costs for the full-scale plant. Ultimately the City chose a treatment scheme that includes low-pressure membrane filtration and post-filter GAC adsorption, allowing for consistent finished water quality irrespective of which raw water supply is being used. The conceptual design includes several progressive concepts, which will: 1) alleviate treatment limitations at the City's existing plants by providing additional pre-clarification facilities at the new plant; and 2) take advantage of site conditions to design and operate the submerged membrane system by gravity-induced siphon, saving the City significant capital and operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Once completed, the new Fullerton Water Filtration Plant (WFP) will be the largest low-pressure membrane plant in North America, and the largest gravity-siphon design in the world.


1987 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Wiesner ◽  
Charles R. O'Melia ◽  
Jared L. Cohon

1978 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-303
Author(s):  
James C. Young ◽  
John L. Cleasby ◽  
E. Robert Baumann

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 331-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Masciopinto ◽  
V. Palmisano ◽  
F. Tangorra ◽  
M. Vurro

The need for artificial recharge plants is the result of the qualitative and quantitative worsening of groundwater resources due to increased pumping and wastewater discharge. This paper described a system that uses artificial intelligence techniques for designing an artificial recharge plant. The system can be used as a training tool for new engineers, as well as an aid in the choices for expert engineers. The system is an application of an expert system shell running on a common p.c. machine. The model is made up of two knowledge bases, respectively denoted as Quantity artificial recharge and Quality artificial recharge. The former is related to the quantitative aspects, such as geology, climate and land availability, the latter to qualitative aspects, such as water use and treatment plant. Two case studies have been implemented in order to confirm the validity of this kind of systemic approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16

The conventional wastewater (WW) treatment plant includes physical, chemical, and biological treatment processes that can protect the receiving water bodies from water pollution. The common design constraints, challenges as well as environmental impact would make the wastewater treatment plant’s (WWTP) construction and operation more complex and demanding tasks. Major project constraints for WW plant design are economic, accessibility, fulfilling technical requirements, institutional set-up, health and environment, personnel capacity, and political commitment etc. Design methodology adopted in the current study included project location, unit selections, the design capacity, design period as well as proximity to the population and layout plan. The present manuscript discussed briefly about effluent quality requirements, design issues, environmental impacts, details, and safety concerns. It also highlighted the necessary flexibility to carry out satisfactorily within the desired range of influent WW characteristics and flows. In the present study, every step of the design was verified with Environmental Regulations and suggested to overcome all constraints while designing WWTPs so that standard operational code for the specific region could be implemented to achieve the best treatment performance. The results obtained from analytical calculation were optimized to achieve the best design parameters for field application. The optimized values also reduce the construction and operation cost during the field application.


Author(s):  
Santiago V. Lombeyda ◽  
William C. Regli

Abstract This paper presents an approach to support computer-aided conceptual design of mechatronic assemblies in a collaborative, multi-user environment. We describe a system, Conceptual Understanding and Prototyping (CUP), that allows a team of design engineers, collaborating over the Internet, to develop a high-level structure-function-behavior (S-B-F) description of an assembly in a VRML-based virtual environment. Our goal is to enable users to navigate intricate product data management (PDM) and case-based design knowledge-bases, providing the ability to perform design at conceptual level and have intelligent CAD tools that can draw on details from large repositories of previously archived designs. This work furthers research efforts in computer support for collaborative design activities — drawing on work in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW). We envision CUP to be a network interface to next-generation of engineering PDM systems and CAD databases. We are deploying CUP as query interface to the National Design Repository (http://repos.mcs.drexel.edu). This will enable CAD users to interrogate large quantities of legacy data and identify artifacts with structural and functional similarities — allowing designers to perform case-based and variant design.


1972 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-489
Author(s):  
Dilip S. Mehta ◽  
Harry H. Davis ◽  
Robert P. Kingsbury

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