Abstract
Achieving low costs and high efficiency in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is a common challenge in developing countries, although many optimizing tools on process design and operation have been well established. A data-driven optimal strategy without the prerequisite of expensive instruments and skilled engineers is thus attractive in practice. In this study, a data mining system was implemented to optimize the process design and operation in WWTPs in China, following an integral procedure including data collection and cleaning, data warehouse, data mining, and web user interface. A data warehouse was demonstrated and analyzed using one-year process data in 30 WWTPs in China. Six sludge removal loading rates on water quality indices, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP), were calculated as derived parameters and organized into fact sheets. A searching algorithm was programmed to find out the five records most similar to the target scenario. A web interface was developed for users to input scenarios, view outputs, and update the database. Two case WWTPs were investigated to verify the data mining system. The results indicated that effluent quality of Case-1 WWTP was improved to meet the discharging criteria through optimal operations, and the process design of Case-2 WWTP could be refined in a feedback loop. A discussion on the gaps, potential, and challenges of data mining in practice was provided. The data mining system in this study is a good candidate for engineers to understand and control their processes in WWTPs.
Highlights
The wastewater collection and treatment in China have been dramatically developed since 2005, resulting in 54 billion tons of wastewater per year treated by over 3500 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 2013 [1,2]
In the 30 WWTPs, there were 11 WWTPs that had no primary clarifier, 10 WWTPs that had an industrial influent ratio higher than 40%, and 21 WWTPs that were located in eastern China
A demonstration data warehouse was established from the process data in 30 WWTPs in
Summary
The wastewater collection and treatment in China have been dramatically developed since 2005, resulting in 54 billion tons of wastewater per year treated by over 3500 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 2013 [1,2]. As the consequence of the increasing construction of WWTPs, a number of experienced engineers are required to operate the facilities effectively and safely. The discharging criteria of WWTPs are tightened for stepwise objectives to protect the surface water quality in China [1,2,3]. Process upgrading was stimulated to reserve more redundancy via longer retention time and larger volume of tanks than the necessity. The complicated process and unsatisfied operation triggered the significant increase of energy use in wastewater treatment facilities. The energy based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
