PROJECTS

FRAMEWORK

The wastewater produced by the large world population is an important source of pollution. These waters are also capable of accelerating the loss of biodiversity and prevent the execution of the objectives established by the international community. With respect to the European Union, the legislations have clear and binding objectives for its member-states. However, they are very flexible with respect to the means used to achieve those objectives, allowing for alternative solutions and encouraging strategy innovation on the treatment of wastewater.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

Strengthen research, technological development and innovation.

In line with the European Union’s strategy of sustainable development, which predicts the adoption of increasingly stricter measures for environmental control, energy efficiency and a rational management of resources, this project presents itself as having a high potential for economic appreciation, centred in the development and validation, under real conditions, of an innovative system of estimation, control and optimisation of wastewater treatment plants.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS

The SYNAPPS project has a total duration of 30 months and it is expected that the work will take place according to the following structure:

Initially, this activity is intended to consolidate the state of art with regard to sensors, intelligent control models, existing solutions, legislation and recommendations applicable within the scope of the project, as well as to deepen knowledge about the functional, energetic and environmental performance of wastewater treatment plants, which are the target of the final product.

Activity 1 - Initial studies
Initially, this activity is intended to consolidate the state of art with regard to sensors, intelligent control models, existing solutions, legislation and recommendations applicable within the scope of the project, as well as to deepen knowledge about the functional, energetic and environmental performance of wastewater treatment plants, which are the target of the final product.

Activity 2 – Architecture of the estimation, control and optimisation platform
The aim of this activity is to define the functional structure of the control and optimisation system using computational intelligence techniques, to define the functional requirements of the system components and modules, as well as to prepare the engineering projects necessary for the materialisation of the product.

Activity 3 – Estimation, control and optimisation models
This activity aims to implement estimation, control and optimisation models that will make it possible to adjust treatment processes in real time, based on data collected continuously, guaranteeing high functional, energy and environmental efficiency.

Activity 4 - Materialisation of the platform
This activity will explore the materialisation of the platform, foreseeing its installation in the wastewater treatment plant used in the initial data collection, in order to validate the concept in all relevant aspects for its commercialisation and subsequent use.

Activity 5 - Validation of the platform in real facilities
This activity aims to evaluate the performance of the methodologies for estimating and controlling the target variables of the process, as well as the environmental, energy and operational performance of the new platform under real conditions. It is also planned to carry out a life cycle assessment study to highlight the main advantages of using the new product.

Activity 6 – Broad dissemination of results
Through this activity, the aim is to systematize the results of the SYNAPPS project and prepare technical and scientific content for dissemination among the public and the market.

Product resulting from the project
An integrating platform, made up of hardware and software modules, which can be installed in most medium and large wastewater treatment plants, with the hardware module made up of analysers/sensors available on the market and the software module developed with the skills and criteria defined in this project.