Improving Nutrient Removal While Reducing Energy Use at Three Swiss WWTPs Using Advanced Control

• DOI: 10.2175/106143011x13233670703684
• Publication Date: 2012-10-06T11:56:18Z
• Authors: Leiv Rieger; Imre Takács; Hansruedi Siegrist
• Keywords: Carbon Footprint

Aeration consumes about 60% of the total energy use a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and therefore is major contributor to its carbon footprint. Introducing advanced process control can help plants reduce their footprint at same time improve effluent quality through making available unused capacity for denitrification, if ammonia concentration below certain set-point. Monitoring concepts are cost-saving alternatives extension reactor volume. However, they also involve risk violation limits due measuring errors, unsuitable or inadequate implementation monitoring system. Dynamic simulation suitable tool analyze design tailored systems. During this work, extensive data collection, modeling full-scale aeration algorithms were carried out three conventional activated sludge with fixed pre-denitrification nitrification zones. Full-scale savings in range 16-20% could be achieved together an increase nitrogen removal 40%.