Development of an Integrated Control and Adjustment Strategy for Sewerage Systems and Wastewater Treatment Plants
The GECO►C research team started as early as April 2005, in collaboration with Aggerverband, carrying out this research and development project. A focal point of the research is to show the potential for an immissions orientated and integrated control and adjustment strategy using modern computational intelligence tools. In addition to the measurement technology and modelling within the context of a simulation, control is the third component required for the holistic optimisation of wastewater treatment plants.
For the implementation of a control concept at the municipal sewerage system of Homburg Bröl a detailed safety concept was developed in order to ensure that, even in the event of the failure of individual components of the control system, this does not result in any risk to the wastewater systems, lakes and rivers, the environment or the people living there. Whilst checking the fuzzy control process developed using an upstream state machine, a reduction of 35% in the quantities discharged within the sewerage system during a rain event was able to be shown during the simulation. This was able to be achieved through the optimum exploitation of the capacities available within the sewerage system, and represents great potential for the active protection of the lakes and rivers through a reduction in the combined wastewater loads.
Within this project it was possible to achieve the top environmental aim, the protection of the lakes and rivers by using modern measurement technology, simulation on models, and using suitable control processes. At the same time, implementation occurred taking into account all the components integrated into the wastewater system.
