Hierarchical predictive control of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of a new predictive control approach used to improve the energy efficiency and effluent quality of a conventional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). A two-layer hierarchical control structure is proposed: process control as a lower layer and a higher layer of optimization. The Activated Sludge Process (ASP) optimization using the proposed approach provides an improved aeration system efficiency to reduce energy costs while maintaining the quality parameters of the effluent. The control strategy is evaluated by performing simulations and analyzing the results. The regulatory performances have been tested and the effects of several tuning parameters are investigated.