Simulation of a nitrification control concept considering influent ammonium load.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Wastewater Treatment
• Process Control

Background:

• The Buchenhofen wastewater treatment plant (650,000 p.e.) requires expansion for enhanced nitrogen elimination.
• Limited space necessitates an optimized control concept to minimize additional infrastructure.
• Stringent effluent limits for ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) require precise process management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate an optimized control concept for targeted nitrogen elimination in wastewater treatment.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of combined feedback and feedforward control versus pure feedback control.
• To minimize the need for additional tanks through advanced process control.

Main Methods:

• Dynamic simulation using Activated Sludge Model No. 1.
• Comparison of a pure feedback control configuration.
• Evaluation of a combined feedback and feedforward control configuration, incorporating influent ammonium load for aeration control.

Main Results:

• Combined feedforward/feedback control demonstrated significant advantages over pure feedback control.
• This integrated approach effectively reduced effluent NH4-N peaks.
• The control strategy is particularly beneficial for meeting low NH4-N limits (5 mg NH4-N/L).

Conclusions:

• Optimized control concepts are essential for efficient wastewater treatment, especially under space constraints.
• Combined feedforward/feedback control offers superior performance in nitrogen elimination compared to feedback control alone.
• This strategy is a viable solution for achieving stringent effluent quality standards and avoiding infrastructure expansion.