Control issues and challenges in wastewater treatment plants

Control issues in wastewater treatment facilities pertain primarily to aeration control for energy usage and satisfying process demands. A significant issue is the provision of adequate oxygen without excessive aeration and its associated energy cost, despite changing influent conditions. The majority of plants in the United States accomplish only organic matter removal. Increasing regulatory pressure to remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus requires more complicated processes, which present optimization and control issues. In particular, nutrients are transformed at different rates depending on the reactor environment and operating conditions. Cyclic operation and multireactor facilities are used for nutrient removal.