title: Optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation for greenhouse gas mitigation.
abstract: This study deals with the determination of optimal operation of a wastewater treatment system for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, and pollution loads in the effluent. To do this, an integrated performance index that includes three objectives was established to assess system performance. The ASMN_G model was used to perform system optimization aimed at determining a set of operational parameters that can satisfy three different objectives. The complex nonlinear optimization problem was simulated using the Nelder-Mead Simplex optimization algorithm. A sensitivity analysis was performed to identify influential operational parameters on system performance. The results obtained from the optimization simulations for six scenarios demonstrated that there are apparent trade-offs among the three conflicting objectives. The best optimized system simultaneously reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 31%, reduced operating cost by 11%, and improved effluent quality by 2% compared to the base case operation.
authors: UNC Charlotte, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
authors: Dongwook
authors: D
authors: Kim
authors: UNC Charlotte, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. Electronic address: jdbowen@uncc.edu.
authors: James D
authors: JD
authors: Bowen
authors: UNC Charlotte, Dept. of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
authors: Ertunga C
authors: EC
authors: Ozelkan
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D017752:Greenhouse Effect / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater; D014876:Water Pollution
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Greenhouse gas; Modeling; Optimization; Performance index; Sensitivity analysis; Wastewater