Automation of wastewater processing plants

The data transmitted by the sensors is treated in real time by an industrial programmable automat designed for an entirely automated operation of the installation. The system of supervision proposes several functionalities:
- Security management of access
- Consultation in real time of measurements of the sensors installed on the station
- Visualization on synoptic of the state of actuators (pumps, boiler, flare, etc)
- Alarm system in the event of failure of part of the system (alarms, indicators of diagnosis)

- Time-saver for the checking of the good performance of the station
- Increased Safety thanks to remote alarms
- Adaptability according to the complexity of the installation and the needs for follow-up

The integration of the supervision on the automat is carried out thanks to a chart integrating a Web server and with a modem ADSL router. This solution requires a standard connector industry, via a catch RJ11. A dedicated access Internet will have to be set up. This solution ensures the compatibility of access to the supervisor from any station having a navigator Internet (no installation is necessary on this station).

Screen of the pilot of automation on the station of NP Pharm waste processing

Installation of NP, waste processing Pharm (Group Ethypharm, Bazanville 78)

Sensor for fatty acids measurement

• Operation

The measurement of the Volatile Fatty-acids, bicarbonate and alkalinity makes it possible to optimize the operation of a methanisor, in particular during the launching phase. They are indicators of robustness of the process.  The Volatile Fatty Acids are a set of reactional intermediaries present between the phases of acidogenesis and methanogenesis. An accumulation of Volatile Fatty Acids in an engine can inhibit the phase of methanogenesis.
This is known as an organic overload.
The presence of Volatile Fatty Acids in significant amount can be compensated by a strong alkalinity, of which one of the principal origins is the presence of bicarbonate in the liquid. The knowledge of these indicators makes it thus possible to better diagnose the operating condition of the digester.














Comparison of the Volatile Fatty Acids with a chromatograph in gas phase

• Advantages

The use of the sensor in line of AGV allows to:

 - Accelerate the rise in charge of the installation of methanisation in the launching phase while reducing the risks of organic overload
 - Detect an influence of the introduction of certain waste, according to their seasonal variation, on the chemical environment of the methanisor, like on the composition of biogas
 - Identify optimal points of operation