A Visual Basic simulation software tool for performance analysis of a membrane-based advanced water treatment plant

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Water Treatment Technologies
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Advanced wastewater treatment is crucial for managing hazardous industrial effluents.
• Existing simulation tools may lack integration of diverse unit operations.
• Optimization of complex treatment schemes requires robust analytical methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop user-friendly simulation software for advanced wastewater treatment plant performance analysis.
• To integrate chemical, biological, and membrane processes within a dynamic mathematical model.
• To provide a visual platform for design, optimization, and operational assessment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a dynamic mathematical model for an industrial wastewater treatment scheme.
• Implementation of the model in Visual Basic software (WATTPPA) within the Microsoft Excel environment.
• Validation of software predictions against experimental findings.

Main Results:

• The WATTPPA software accurately simulates advanced wastewater treatment plant performance.
• Software predictions showed excellent agreement with experimental data (correlation coefficient ≈ 0.99).
• The software facilitates data manipulation, optimization, and visual performance analysis of integrated systems.

Conclusions:

• WATTPPA is a novel, effective tool for analyzing and optimizing advanced hybrid wastewater treatment plants.
• The software's user-friendly interface and visual capabilities enhance its utility for engineers.
• This simulation software is valuable for the design, optimization, and operation of hazardous wastewater treatment facilities.