Transforming wastewater treatment in regional Australia with robust technology for multiple benefits
Currently wastewater treatment lagoons, are widely used for rural, regional, and low-density urban communities, however they have several shortcomings, including; odour impacts, limited treatment effectiveness, high greenhouse gas emissions and evaporative losses, and propensity to cause Cyanobacterial blooms.
This project investigates the integration of high rate anaerobic treatment with a high rate alage production system as a novel, low-cost retrofitting strategy for regional wastewater treatment ponds.
The project will demonstrate a technological solution for upgrading existing wastewater treatment lagoons through simple, low-cost retrofitting, and will:
- Provide a reliable water supply for beneficial reuse for irrigation driving further economic development in rural communities, whilst improving water security;
- Substantially reduced odour and greenhouse gas emissions;
- Reduce operator intervention;
- Enhance process management outcomes and improve water quality;
- Implement machine learning and AI technologies;
- Integrated process model for a high rate anaerobic and high rate algae pond treatment systems;
- Decrease treatment times;
- Increase existing asset treatment capacity;
- Eliminate the accumulation of sludge; and
- Enable the recovery of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous embedded in algae biomass.
This project demonstrates the integrated anaerobic and high rate alage technology, including a remote monitoring and control system, at both pilot (Luggage Point RRC, QLD) and demonstration scale (Leanyer Sanderson STP, NT and Helidon RRC, QLD) to validate the technology at a larger scale.
Collaborators
- Urban Utilities (QLD)
- The University of Western Australia (WA)
- Aquatec Maxcon (QLD)
- Lockyer Valley Regional Council (QLD)
- Power and Water Corporation (NT)
- Department of Environment and Science (QLD)
Funding
- Federal Government Cooperative Research Centre
- Urban Utilities
- Northern Territory Power and Water
- Aquatec Maxcon
- Department of Environment and Science (QLD)
- Lockyer Valley Regional Council (QLD)
Project Outcomes
- Winner: 2022 QLD AWA R&D Excellence Award
Publications
Papers:
- Development of an integrated process model for an anaerobic digester (AD) – high-rate algae pond (HRAP) wastewater treatment system – In preparation
- Cost effective soft sensing for wastewater treatment facilities IEEE Access – Under review
Conference Proceedings:
- AWA Q-Water 2021 - Transformation of regional lagoon-based treatment
- AWA Future Water 2020 - Transforming wastewater treatment in regional Australia with robust technology for multiple benefits
- AWA Northern Territory Water in the Bush 2021 – Leanyer Sanderson treatment pilot system
- AWA (North QLD) 2020 –Integrated high-rate anaerobic and high-rate alage treatment in regional Australia
- AWA (North QLD) 2020 - Use of ponds for sewage treatment in QLD
- AWA Q-water 2021- Transformation of regional lagoon-based treatment
- AWA Ozwater – 2022 Conference Presentation – Regional sewage treatment transformation: delivering robust green technology
Poster:
- IWA Leading edge technology (USA) 2022 Completing the circular wastewater economy through water energy and nutrient recovery.
- AWA (North QLD) 2020 - Plant wide modelling of a novel two-stage anaerobic -algae wastewater treatment system
- IWA - Copenhagen World Water Congress Transforming wastewater treatment in regional Australia.
Thesis:
- PhD – D. Somasundaram – Process modelling and control of cost-effective wastewater treatment processes – in progress
- PhD – M. Alvi – Machine learning for prognostics of wastewater treatment plants – in progress
- Honours – A. Wylie – Comparison of machine learning models for soft-sensing in wastewater treatment plants
- Honours – L. Cunningham – Intelligent algorithms for soft sensing in sensor network deployments – In progress