Monitoring and Controlling a Smarter
Wastewater Treatment System: A UK
Perspective
Oliver Grievson
Contents
1 A Systematic Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
2 Smart Wastewater Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
2.1 Philosophy of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
2.2 Monitoring the Inputs into the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
2.3 Monitoring the Network and Outputs from the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.4 The Opportunities and Barriers for the Smart Wastewater Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
3 Smart Wastewater Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
3.1 Philosophy of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
3.2 Measuring and Controlling the Wastewater Treatment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
3.3 Holistic Control: Model-Based and Multivariate Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4 A Smarter Wastewater Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Abstract Monitoring wastewater has always been a challenge. In the wastewater
collection network, historically, there has been a lack of permanent wastewater
monitoring because of the propensity for fouling and the complications of monitoring both gravity and pressurised networks. In engineering and operational terms, the
wastewater network has also been treated as a separate entity to the wastewater
treatment works which is, in reality, part of the same system. The wastewater
treatment works tends to be much better monitored depending upon the size of the
works. However this monitoring has been very much based upon single system
instrument-based control systems (e.g. a dissolved oxygen control system for an
activated sludge plant) rather than a more holistic system approach balancing the
different systems present on a typical treatment works.
O. Grievson (*)
Z-Tech Control Systems, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: oliver.grievson@z-tech.co.uk
Andrea Scozzari, Steve Mounce, Dawei Han, Francesco Soldovieri,
and Dimitri Solomatine (eds.), ICT for Smart Water Systems: Measurements and
Data Science, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 102: 111–140, https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2019_418,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019, Published online: 26 November 2019
111
Wastewater Treatment System: A UK
Perspective
Oliver Grievson
Contents
1 A Systematic Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
2 Smart Wastewater Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
2.1 Philosophy of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
2.2 Monitoring the Inputs into the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
2.3 Monitoring the Network and Outputs from the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.4 The Opportunities and Barriers for the Smart Wastewater Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
3 Smart Wastewater Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
3.1 Philosophy of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
3.2 Measuring and Controlling the Wastewater Treatment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
3.3 Holistic Control: Model-Based and Multivariate Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4 A Smarter Wastewater Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Abstract Monitoring wastewater has always been a challenge. In the wastewater
collection network, historically, there has been a lack of permanent wastewater
monitoring because of the propensity for fouling and the complications of monitoring both gravity and pressurised networks. In engineering and operational terms, the
wastewater network has also been treated as a separate entity to the wastewater
treatment works which is, in reality, part of the same system. The wastewater
treatment works tends to be much better monitored depending upon the size of the
works. However this monitoring has been very much based upon single system
instrument-based control systems (e.g. a dissolved oxygen control system for an
activated sludge plant) rather than a more holistic system approach balancing the
different systems present on a typical treatment works.
O. Grievson (*)
Z-Tech Control Systems, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: oliver.grievson@z-tech.co.uk
Andrea Scozzari, Steve Mounce, Dawei Han, Francesco Soldovieri,
and Dimitri Solomatine (eds.), ICT for Smart Water Systems: Measurements and
Data Science, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 102: 111–140, https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2019_418,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019, Published online: 26 November 2019
111