title: Advanced monitoring and supervision of biological treatment of complex dairy effluents in a full-scale plant.
abstract: The operation of a wastewater treatment plant treating effluents from a dairy laboratory was monitored by an advanced system. This plant comprises a 12 m(3) anaerobic filter (AF) reactor and a 28 m(3) sequential batch reactor (SBR) coupled in series and is equipped with the following on-line measurement devices: biogas flow meter, feed and recycling flow meters, temperature sensor, dissolved oxygen analyzer, and redox meter. Other parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), volatile fatty acids (VFA), etc. were determined off-line. The plant has been in operation for 634 days, the influent flow rate being 6-8 m(3)/d. COD concentration of the influent ranged between 8 and 12 kg COD/m(3), resulting in COD values in the effluent around 50-200 mg/L. The behavior of the system was studied using the set of measurements collected by the data acquisition program especially developed for this purpose. Monitoring of variables such as anaerobic reactor temperature permitted the detection and prevention of several failures such as temperature shocks in the AF reactor. Besides, off-line measurements such as the alkalinity or the VFA content, together with the on-line measurements, provided immediate information about the state of the plant and the detection of several anomalies, such as organic overloads in the SBR, allowing the implementation of several fast control actions.
authors.affiliation: University of Santiago de Compostela, Department of Chemical Engineering, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (School of Engineering), 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
authors.forename: Eugenio F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Omil
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arrojo
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Méndez
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000032:analysis*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005246:Feedback; D007218:Industrial Microbiology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000517:prevention & control; D009862:Online Systems; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical