Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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Why it's time to embrace the digital measurement revolution for wastewater Developments in digital sensing technology have opened up new possibilities for wastewater, Julian Edwards, analytical sales specialist for ABB Measurement and Analytics, writes www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | AUGUST 2019 | 23 The Knowledge Wastewater sensors ples to be automatically meas- ured and analysed at the point of sampling, giving a real-time indication of current process conditions. Benefits include reduced fail- ures and maintenance issues, such as unexpected shutdowns or increased plant maintenance. Others include reduced delays and failures that can affect treat- ment efficiency and regulatory compliance. As well as reducing the need for operators to make sometimes costly interventions, automatic continuous monitor- ing can also help to reduce levels of sludge. Using the latest digital dissolved oxygen sensors in activated sludge systems, for example, can offer much tighter control of dissolved oxygen levels, matching them to actual T hey say prevention is better than cure, and that's doubly true in the wastewater industry. The need to meet stringent environmental legislation and maximise profitability through reduced operating costs is incentivising many operators to find ways to better understand what's happening in their processes. Developments in digital water sensing technology are offering unprecedented access to a ra of real-time, high-accuracy data without the drawbacks associated with many conventional sensor types. By utilising these devices, operators can count on greatly improved measurement of many of the key parameters entailed in wastewater and industrial oxygen demand and helping to ensure the right conditions needed to optimise aeration process efficiency. Moreover, with aeration processes accounting for over half of a plant's energy costs, ensuring tight control of dis- solved oxygen can also help operators to realise substantial energy cost savings. Compliance With both Ofwat and the Environment Agency taking an increasingly tough stance on the quality of wastewater discharged to the environment, it quite literally pays to use the best available technology to minimise the risk of any infringements. The need to measure phos- phate levels was behind Severn effluent treatment. The last few years have seen purely analogue systems increasingly being super- seded by digital measurement devices offering expanded data gathering and communications capabilities. As well as avoiding pollution incidents, the improved access to timely data delivered by these devices is enabling users to make informed decisions that can lead to a step change in performance, efficiency and maintenance. Cutting costs Continuous automatic measure- ment beats manual methods hands down. In contrast to traditional manual sampling methods, continuous online analyser systems enable sam- WASTEWATER QUALITY