SELECTION OF OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES IN ACTIVATED-SLUDGE PROCESSES BASED ON OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS

This paper presents a new optimization algorithm for the selection of design and operation parameters in complex Activated Sludge (AS) proce sses. The algorithm estimates automatically the dimensions and operati ng point of the plant that minimize a global penalty function combinin g effluent requirements and costs. The mathematical optimization is ba sed on a direct search algorithm integrated in a previously developed simulation package. Some illustrative examples concerning the design a nd operation of the Alpha process have been included to show the poten tial of this kind of mathematical tool when the-complexity of plant co nfiguration increases. The results obtained by the optimization proced ure generate useful guidelines for the design and operation and sugges t a great potential in the application for solving more complex proble ms when additional objectives and costs are included. (C) 1998 Publish ed by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.