Operación y control óptimo de EDAR: Desarrollo e implementación de nuevas estrategias de operación y control para la eliminación de nutrientes diseñadas con técnicas de modelización y benchmarking.

The present Spanish legislation establishes that the municipal Wastewater Treatment Plands (WWTP) must remove organic matter (COD - chemical oxygen demand) and nutrients, specially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The developped mathematical models at the moment allow a correct description of the processes observed in WWTP. In individual, the IWA ASM2d is able to model the behavior of WWTP with biological removal of COD, N and P. This model contemplates not only the heterotrophic biomass (remove COD and N) and autotrophic (remove N), but also another class of heterotrophs denominated PAO (Phosphorus Acumulating Organisms), that makes teh P accumulation from the use of polymeric reserves for its growth. The present project proposes the use of ASM2d model as a tool for the improvement and innovation of conventional processes of biological treatment in WWTP. The project can be summarized in three main lines: - Model based design and experimental verification in plant pilot of new startegies of control in municipal WWTP with removal of COD, N and P. Optimization of the strategies by means of benchmarking considering criteria of quality of effluent nad economic criteria of cost minimization. - Model based design and experimental verification of a novel scheme of opration for the removal of N and P, with bioaugmentation of a conventional system of a nitrification/deniutrification with PAO microorganisms.Sizing of the processby means of modeling nad experimental verification of its efficiency. Economic evaluation of the scheme of operation in comparison to standard configuratios. - Study of a full-scale WWTP. Desing based on benchmarking of the startegies of control more adapted to improve the efficiency of nutrients removal including economic considerations. Characterization of waters to treat and the WWTP. Study of the alternatives and proposal of control startegies and possible modifications of the WWTP.