Aeration System Design for Energy Savings

With the recent increases with energy cost and the requirements of Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR), the design and control of an aeration systems has become one of the most important parts of the design of the activated sludge process. A well designed aeration system can save significant amounts of energy and provide a stable BNR effluent by meeting the required dissolved oxygen set points at the lowest possible pressure. A poorly designed aeration system will bleed oxygen into the anoxic zones, lowering the potential denitrification capacity of the plant, and will waste power. The goal of the paper will be to describe the process of designing an aeration system and to present a case study of an advanced aeration control system based upon variable oxygen uptake rate.