Aeration tank settling and real time control as a tool to improve the hydraulic capacity and treatment efficiency during wet weather: results from 7 years' full-scale operational data

This paper investigates the aeration tank settling (ATS) operation in combination with real time control (RTC) as a tool for increasing the hydraulic capacity and improving the treatment efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) during wet weather flows. Results from 7 years' full-scale operational data at the Avedøre WWTP, Denmark, show that ATS operation in combination with RTC increases the hydraulic capacity of the treatment plant with up to 150 and 67% of the design capacity during winter and summer respectively. Compared to the conventional wet weather operation, the ATS in combination with RTC operation resulted in lower effluent concentrations for total phosphate (40–50%), suspended solids (30–60%) and chemical oxygen demand (30–50%), whereas no significant effect was observed on total nitrogen. Apart from the reduced effluent concentrations, the RTC resulted in economic savings in the form of reduced costs for electricity and green taxes. However, in very few cases the ATS operation in combination with RTC was not able to handle design capacity, and some overflows occurred at flows below the design capacity. The frequency of these overflows may increase in the future due to increased rain intensity resulting in shorter prediction time available for ATS.