Reducing operational cost, carbon and sensor drift through digital innovation: POSTER
Whitmore, A.1, Williamson, K.2, Rule, G.2, Joseph, T.3 and Harwin, E.1, 1Mott MacDonald, UK, 2Watercare Services Ltd, New Zealand, 3Mott MacDonald, New Zealand
(Free)
Digital solutions can provide new insights into wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations, improving decision-making which leads to increased performance and reduced operational cost and carbon. In 2022, Watercare and Mott MacDonald developed and delivered the Rosedale Innovation programme focused on two workstreams:
1. Operational expenditure (OPEX) and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction; and
2. Soft sensors for instrumentation drift detection.
The Watercare Rosedale Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located in Auckland, serves a population equivalent (PE) of about 240,000. The process consists of primary sedimentation, biological treatment through the Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process, clarification, UV disinfection, and anaerobic digestion for solids stabilisation. A digital twin of the WWTP was developed on Moata and utilised advanced analytics including biological modelling and machine learning.