Smart energy savings for aeration control in wastewater treatment

This paper describes control algorithm of minimum energy loss in the aeration process of wastewater treatment in the activated sludge system. The basic equations of the aeration process have been proposed in this paper with the dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) and the amount of sludge discharge (QW) being dual-parameter control variables and the organic matter concentration S and the microbial concentration X in the aeration tank being the state variables. Based on the present study on optimization control of wastewater treatment, the multivariable optimal control model with restriction factors have been presented in the paper. The model with modern control theory and system analysis are introduced into the field of activated sludge wastewater treatment. It takes the two most important control parameters (DO &QW), effluent quality as restriction factor. The minimum energy consumption in the aeration process is used as the objective function. This approach has been carried out and the results show that adopting optimal control strategy in the aeration process can effectively conserve energy with the assurance of effluent water quality.