Flexible Control of Wastewater Aeration for Cost-Efficient, Sustainable Treatment

With increasing fluctuations in electricity production due to prioritization of renewable energy sources, new applications that can adjust quickly to changes in demand/supply will be needed. Wastewater treatment use a significant amount of electricity to reduce nutrients in wastewater before discharge. The treatment process demands electricity in some selected periods which can be controlled, and hence the time of consumption is changeable. Here we suggest a novel predictive control strategy which enhances the flexibility in electricity demand by accounting for electricity price and probability of up or down regulation. The strategy is demonstrated in simulation experiments, where the concept is illustrated and the potential savings are estimated. Furthermore flexibility is investigated as a function of regulating prices, and it is shown that when difference between electricity price and regulating price increases, sodoes flexibility of the system