Network-wide sewer odour and corrosion management by model predictive control

Overview

Network-wide sewer corrosion and odour management is a highly challenging task due to the lack of suitable methodologies to support the control designs of chemical dosing units and sewage pumping stations. This project aims to develop and demonstrate, through real-life field studies, a model predictive control approach that achieves cost-effective network-wide mitigation of hydrogen sulfide. The innovative control methodology involves the simultaneous manipulation of chemical dosing unit(s) and selected sewage pumping station(s), based on real-time prediction of sewage flows and characteristics both at sources and across the network, to ensure optimal delivery of dosed chemicals to realise network-wide mitigation of hydrogen sulfide.

Collaborators

• City of Gold Coast
• Urban Utilities
• SA Water
• DCM Process Control
• NextGen Water

Project Outcomes

The project has recruited a PhD student and currently sewer sites for the field studies are identified by research partners and under investigation.