Energy saving on wastewater treatment plants through improved online control: case study wastewater treatment plant Antwerp-South

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1074-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris De Gussem ◽  
Alessio Fenu ◽  
Tom Wambecq ◽  
Marjoleine Weemaes

This work provides a case study on how activated sludge modelling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can help to optimize the energy consumption of a treatment plant that is already equipped with an advanced control based on online nutrient measurements. Currently, aeration basins on wastewater treatment plant Antwerp-South are operated sequentially while flow direction and point of inflow and outflow vary as a function of time. Activated sludge modelling shows that switching from the existing alternating flow based control to a simultaneous parallel feeding of all aeration tanks saves 1.3% energy. CFD calculations also illustrate that the water velocity is still sufficient if some impellers in the aeration basins are shutdown. The simulations of the Activated Sludge Model No. 2d indicate that the coupling of the aeration control with the impeller control, and automatically switching off some impellers when the aeration is inactive, can save 2.2 to 3.3% of energy without affecting the nutrient removal efficiency. On the other hand, all impellers are needed when the aeration is active to distribute the oxygen.

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Cisterna-Osorio ◽  
Patricia Arancibia-Avila

Fats and oils are the most common pollutants in wastewater, and are usually eliminated through physical processes in wastewater treatment plants, generating large amounts of fats and residual oils that are difficult to dispose of and handle. The degradation of fatty wastewater was studied in a real wastewater treatment plant and a laboratory scale treatment unit. The wastewater treatment plant, located in Chile, was designed for a population of 200,000 inhabitants. It includes an aerobic digester that receives fat and oils retained in a degreaser and treats the fats and oils together with biomass. The biodegradation of fats and oils was analyzed in both wastewater treatment systems. Key parameters were monitored such as the concentration of fats and oils in the influents and effluents, mass loading, and the efficiency of biodegradation. The mass loading range was similar in both wastewater treatment systems. In the experimental activated sludge plant, the biodegradation of fats and oils reached levels in the range of 64% to 75%. For the wastewater treatment plant with an aerobic digester, the levels of biodegradation of fats and oils ranged from 69% to 92%. Therefore, considering the efficiency of the elimination of fats and oils, the results indicated that physical treatment should be replaced with biological treatment so that the CO2 generated by the biodegradation will be incorporated into the carbon cycle and the mass of fats and oils in landfills will be reduced.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1461
Author(s):  
Jorge Sancho Martínez ◽  
Yadira Bajón Fernández ◽  
Paul Leinster ◽  
Mónica Rivas Casado

Wastewater treatment plants are essential for preserving the water quality of freshwater and marine ecosystems. It is estimated that, in the UK, as much as 11 billion liters of wastewater are treated on a daily basis. Effective and efficient treatment of wastewater requires treatment plants to be maintained in good condition. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and image processing to be used in autonomous and automated monitoring systems. However, the combined use of UASs and image processing for wastewater treatment plant inspections has not yet been tested. This paper presents a novel image processing-UAS framework for the identification of failures in trickling filters and activated sludge facilities. The results show that the proposed framework has an accuracy of 95% in the detection of failures in activated sludge assets, with the accuracy ranging between 55% and 81% for trickling filters. These results are promising and they highlight the potential use of the technology for the inspection of wastewater treatment plants.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1315-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Aspegren ◽  
B. Andersson ◽  
U. Nyberg ◽  
J. la C. Jansen

Optimization of wastewater treatment plants with extensive phosphorus and nitrogen removal is complicated. The Klagshamn wastewater treatment plant in Sweden is operated with pre-precipitation of phosphorus with ferric chloride and denitrification with methanol as carbon source. An activated sludge process, operated with pre-precipitation and denitrification with external carbon source in a compartmentalized plant, requires only small tank volumes but increases the need for proper operation and optimization. On-line nitrogen, ammonia, and TOC sensors are used for a day-to-day control and optimization while mathematical modelling is used for long term strategic planning. The on-line measurements are further used as the basis for the modelling. TOC and ammonia sensors at the influent clearly identify typical and extreme loading variations and nitrate measurements in the activated sludge tanks and the effluent shows the dynamics of the processes. These measurements provide a basis for model calibration. In combination low residuals of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter can be achieved.


1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-150
Author(s):  
T. Dormoy ◽  
B. Tisserand ◽  
L. Herremans

The new regulations require an increased amount of treatment of stormwater and a reduction of pollution loads discharged into the natural surroundings to be considered. Drainage systems therefore and particularly wastewater treatment plants should be sized correctly to cope with these peaks. Using a simulation software of wastewater treatment plant with activated sludge, such as SIMBAD, enables us to check that planned structures are appropriate in relation to the effluent quality requirements laid down, and to fix the most appropriate operating procedures. Operating constraints on a plant for treating stormwater are not negligible. It is advisable to allow for increased sludge production, O2 requirements and also sludge quality (fermentability).


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Horia Andrei ◽  
Cristian Andrei Badea ◽  
Paul Andrei ◽  
Filippo Spertino

Wastewater treatment plants and power generation constitute inseparable parts of present society. So the growth of wastewater treatment plants is accompanied by an increase in the energy consumption, and a sustainable development implies the use of renewable energy sources on a large scale in the power generation. A case study of the synergy between wastewater treatment plants and photovoltaic systems, aiming to improve the energetic, environmental and economic impacts, is presented. Based on data acquisition, the energy consumption analysis of wastewater treatment plant reveals that the highest demand is during April, and the lowest is during November. The placement of photovoltaic modules is designed to maximize the use of free space on the technological area of wastewater treatment plant in order to obtain a power output as high as possible. The peak consumption of wastewater treatment plant occurs in April, however the peak production of the photovoltaic is in July, so electrochemical batteries can partly compensate for this mismatch. The impact of the photovoltaic system connectivity on power grid is assessed by means of the matching-index method and the storage battery significantly improves this parameter. Carbon credit and energy payback time are used to assess the environmental impact. The results prove that the photovoltaic system mitigates 12,118 tons of carbon and, respectively, the embedded energy is compensated by production in 8 ½ years. The economic impact of the photovoltaic system is analyzed by the levelized cost of energy, and the results show that the price of energy from the photovoltaic source is below the current market price of energy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (Special-Issue1) ◽  
pp. 96-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Mohamadi ◽  
Somaye Rahimi ◽  
Bijan Bina ◽  
Mohamad Amin

ASM1 model is one of the most widely used models of activated sludge process which is the interest of researchers. This model was first proposed in 1987 by the IAWQ group and it is the first formal model of activated sludge. In this research, to evaluate the consistent of model's result with the reality, the data of wastewater treatment plant of south of Isfahan was used. This treatment plant covers a population about 800000 people, and the activated sludge method is used for treating municipal wastewater. The components of ASM1 mode such as fast biodegradable substrate parameters (Ss) and slow biodegradable (Xs) and the concentration of total COD, total nitrogen, suspended solids, nitrate nitrogen and Kjeldahl nitrogen were measured within 68 days and were included in the model. For modeling, the STOAT software was used where the ASM1 model was implemented. To calibrate the model, four cases from bio-kinetic coefficients of ASM1 model was obtained based on the results and the model was corrected in the default values. These coefficients include maximum specific growth rate (µm), decay coefficient (Kd), yield coefficient(Y), and saturation constant (Ks). The model results were consistent with the reality‎.


2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 5643-5647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee-Deung Park ◽  
George F. Wells ◽  
Hyokwan Bae ◽  
Craig S. Criddle ◽  
Christopher A. Francis

ABSTRACT We report molecular evidence that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) occur in activated sludge bioreactors used to remove ammonia from wastewater. Using PCR primers targeting archaeal ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes, we retrieved and compared 75 sequences from five wastewater treatment plants operating with low dissolved oxygen levels and long retention times. All of these sequences showed similarity to sequences previously found in soil and sediments, and they were distributed primarily in four major phylogenetic clusters. One of these clusters contained virtually identical amoA sequences obtained from all five activated sludge samples (from Oregon, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) and accounted for 67% of all the sequences, suggesting that this AOA phylotype may be widespread in nitrifying bioreactors.


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