Structural and functional design of WWTP operation decision support system with a case study

This paper developes the WWTP operation decision support system (ODSS) to simulate the dynamic behavior of the WWTP treatment process based on ASMs (activated sludge models) and WWTP experiential knowledge. The novel structure and functions of ODSS can offer more flexible and general instructions to the WWTP operations. The three independent sub-systems, namely expert system, simulation system and training system, can cooperate to achieve many more functions such as operation alert, fault diagnosis, process simulation and so forth. The expert system based on the dynamic simulation, an essential part of WWTP ODSS, has been proved to be feasible and effective by the implementation at Fang Zhuang WWTP. Our results indicated that the WWTP ODSS has significant potential for improving plant performance and reducing treatment costs by assisting the operators at the decision-making level.