Hybrid supervised hierarchical control of a biological wastewater treatment plant

In wastewater treatment intensification, hierarchical control structures are developed to improve the plant's performance. This paper proposes two novel hybrid supervised hierarchical control structures for specifying the dissolved oxygen concentration in the last aerobic reactor of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) based on the nitrification rate and the ammonia level in this reactor. These structures combine the optimum disturbance rejection PI control (OPI), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and genetic algorithms (GA) to reduce energy consumption and operational costs, improve effluent quality, and reduce the number and percentage of times the established maximum concentration of pollutants in the effluent of the WWTP is violated. The proposed control strategy is implemented and evaluated using benchmark simulation model no. 1 (BSM1). The OPI-ANFIS-GA configuration significantly enhances effluent quality in dry, rainy, and stormy weather conditions, reducing total nitrogen violations by 50.17%, 63.35%, and 47.35%, respectively. Then, 6.79% and 7.12% of aeration energy and 1.44% and 1.46% of operational costs are reduced in dry and rain weather conditions. The OPI-ANFIS configuration enhanced significant energy savings and a cost reduction in storm weather conditions. Both configurations led to a 49.89% decrease in total suspended sludge (TSS) during stormy weather conditions. The proposed controller significantly improves the performance of the WWTP in all weather scenarios compared to the default controller and similar controllers found in the literature.