Process Control Technologies for Water Reuse
Partners
INRAE
Federal University of Ceará
Abstract:
Control4Reuse is aimed at research and development of technologies for managing water resources. The optimization of water treatment and reclamation systems has been integrated as a sustainable solution to improve the reuse of this valuable water resource. The focus is on the reuse of wastewater (WW) in specific agricultural and industrial sectors. From a technological point of view, the scope of the project is based on a system monitoring and control framework, with specific activities of monitoring and integrating sensor information/data, mathematical modelling of processes and designing advanced control strategies.
Project structure:
WP1 System simulation platforms
Objectives:
Tasks:
Task 1.1 Characterization of reclaimed water requirements agricultural reuse-soil fertility, surface and ground water quality
Task 1.2 Plant/culture model development
Task 1.3 Treatment plant model development
WP2 Optimal estimation and control
Objectives: Design and development of optimal estimation and optimal control strategies of the integrated treatment reclamation system
Tasks:
Task 2.1 Analysis and control of treatment and reuse systems
i. literature review and interfacing with WP1
ii. model and control implementations, separated systems
iii. analysis of models and control configurations
Task 2.2 Analysis and control of a deterministic treatment-reuse system
i. interfacing with WP1 and WP3
ii. model and control implementations, integrated system
iii. analysis of models and control configurations
Task 2.3 Analysis and control of a stochastic treatment-reuse system
iv. optimal state and parameter estimation, integrated system
v. optimal control, integrated system
WP3 Fault detection methods and evaluation indexes
Objectives: make use of the simulation platform and develop different FD methods and indexes to quantify and compare the performance of the control strategies developed in WP2
Tasks:
Task 3.1 Univariate and multivariate fault detection methods
i. analysis and implementation of univariate FD methods
ii. analysis and implementation of multivariate FD methods.
Task 3.2 Indexes for controller performance evaluation quantifying the deviation (error) between the set-points and the measurements during a certain period of time
Task 3.3 Indexes for plant performance evaluation effluent quality, cost factors related to the system operation, factors related to performance of the growth of plants
WP4 Implementation/evaluation of control strategies
Objectives:Full-scale implementation of the simulation platform built in WP1.
Tasks:
Task 4.1 Control4Reuse strategy in simulation
i. models review
ii. calibration and optimization
iii. tests of scenarios and evaluation
Task 4.2 Control4Reuse strategy in practice – on experimental sites
iv. identification of an irrigated perimeter sufficiently equipped to be used for control design
v. calibration and optimization
vi. tests of scenarios and evaluation
WP5 Project management and dissemination
Objectives: Coordination of work-package activity, reporting and internal communication between partners
Tasks:
Task 5.1 Management and communication
Task 5.2 Project monitoring
Task 5.3 Dissemination
Outcomes and expected impact:
Control4Reuse will contribute to promote a closed water cycle in society and industry/agriculture, introducing lowcost solutions for water reuse. Designing and operating systems able to manage temporary upsets in water quality and/or quantity, Control4Reuse aims at guaranteeing water availability in case of temporary scarcity. Furthermore, the water reuse approach proposed by Control4Reuse will also impact on the water and energy nexus providing energy-efficient water treatment able to optimize the energy usage needed for producing reusable water. Form the academic point of view, part of the expected outputs from Control4Reuse also includes the availability of mathematical models, as well as the publications of results in international conferences (e.g., the 12th IWAInternational Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse, the 10th IWA International Symposium on waste management problems in Agro-industries) and in peer-reviewed journals. From an educational and societal point of view, Control4Reuse will serve as an excellent platform for knowledge exchange among different communities and for stimulating the generation of new and innovative ideas. This will be the result of seminars and intensive courses for the plant operators and process engineering at the WWTPs and will promote the awareness and understanding of the project goals and achieved results. The objectives in Control4Reuse are much more ambitious than ad-hoc solutions for a specific problem in a particular sector. This project buries the old idea of automation as a post-design solution and promotes new procedures where automation experts from different partners are necessary at the outset of the design of WW treatment-reuse systems, keeping the idea that WW should no longer be considered as waste but as a new resource in a circular economy. This is in line with Control4Reuse: Solutions for the achievement of Challenge 2 (Developing accessible solutions for clean water management to address UN SDG6 targets and associated SDGs), sub-topic 2b (wastewater treatment and recycling), and to address the expected impacts lists in the H2020 Societal Challenge 5, Call Topic SC5-11-2016. A number of models will be considered and integrated. Simulations based on interconnected models will allow investigating complex situations, which are difficult or costly to realize in practice. Moreover, solutions generated from this project could be a starting point for a commercial solution applied to the WW treatment reuse systems. Once a set of scenarios have been studied, the analysis of similar scenarios will be straightforward.