Pilot-testing an alternative on-site wastewater treatment system for small communities and its automatic control

The pilot test of a new alternative for small wastewater treatment system has been conducted for two years. It consists of a hybrid bioreactor and the expert system including the programmable logic controller and human-machine interface. In order to monitor its status, the real-time data was transferred from the remote station to the central station via a wireless local area network. More efficient and stable performances were observed at automatic operating mode compared with the manual. On an average, COD, SS, T-N and T-P concentrations in the effluent from the hybrid bioreactor were less than 14, 7, 12 and 0.9 mg/L, respectively. According to the result from laboratory experiments, the quality of treated wastewater with chemical coagulation process followed by sand filtration was enough to be utilized again if a final disinfection step is included.