WG4. Process integration
Objectives
Plant-wide analysis, plant-wide control, cost analysis, overall impact assessment, social acceptance and decision support systems (DSS) focusing on urban wastewater.
Deliverables
The main outcomes of WG4 will be two software packages that will summarize some of the knowledge developed in WG1, WG2 and WG3. These two software packages will be:
A Decision Support System (DSS) to select alternatives for WWTP
A Benchmark Simulation Protocol to compare control / operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).
These deliverables will start from tools developed previously: In case of DSS, the Novedar-Consolider project (Spanish Government CSD2007-00055) and with respect to the Benchmark Simulation Protocol, the already constructed and available code for the BSM family-products will be the selected platform developed in the COST ACTION 624. In both cases, these two systems will incorporate environmental impact assessment (using LCA), economics and social acceptance.
When it comes to model development, in the DSS, where the main focus will be developing process flow diagrams, steady state models will be sufficient. On the other hand, dynamic models are necessary to evaluate control strategies because detailed (loads / process) variations will be investigated. New process models will have to be developed in order to correctly describe the new treatment /recovery objectives (formation of N2O, CO2 and CH4 emissions, biological phosphorus removal, micropollutants, etc.). In comparison of biological processes, the role of physico-chemistry in the whole activated sludge models is poorly described. The latter has resulted to be really important in order to correctly study the different intended processes e.g. phosphorus recovery
The wastewater treatment plant of the 2020 will need a change of paradigm. Hence, the traditional evaluation criteria will have to be extended in order to cover the new treated requirements. The different LCA impact categories should be included within the evaluation procedures (ozone depletion, eco-toxicity, greenhouse gases emissions, eutrophication).
The validation of the developed tools will be done in the framework of the COST action Water 2020.
The list of deliverables is completed with the following:
Album of WG4 members
Newsletter
Special session meetings at conferences (IWA- ICA, Narbonne 2013 // IWA- WWC, Lisbon 2014)
Short term scientific missions (STSM)
Joint papers (we have experience from other COST actions)
New projects