Expert Support System for Cost Modeling and Evaluation of Wastewater Treatment

New technological conceptions in wastewater treatment are based on analysis of sequences including physico-chemical and biological treatment processes. The proposed expert support system (ESS) enables the examination of entire treatment sequences, each including several treatment stages and processes for sludge treatment, going through all the kinetics, mass balances and specific calculations for each separate process. The ESS calculates treatment costs as a function of different technical or economical parameters. It was found that parameters of pollution concentration, typical to municipal wastewater, as suspended solids, organic matter and ammonia, exert direct linear influences on the treatment cost. The analysis of treatment sequences revealed that the more efficient is the paniculate organic matter removal, achieved by primary physico-chemical processes, mainly using hydrated lime, the lower will be the entire sequence treatment cost. The paper demonstrates the use of the proposed ESS in analyzing different conceptions of process combinations. The ability to analyze entire sequences may impart a significant higher level in considering new wastewater treatment technologies.