WWEMA Window: Bridging The Optimization Gap
By Kurt Tyler, Hach Company
The term “optimization” is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in our industry. Search almost any conference program, read through a trade journal, or sit in an annual planning meeting and you are likely to see or hear the word. However, as it gains popularity, optimization may be generating more questions than answers. Utilities often ask what optimization means and how to get started. For those that have already made changes, they may be asking if their utility is fully optimized.
The rise in popularity of the optimization concept is occurring alongside the increased challenges our industry is facing. Budget pressures, aging infrastructure, and tighter regulations are driving everybody to do more with less, while fulfilling our duties to the public.
Developing a shared understanding of what optimization means is important as utilities benchmark and learn from each other and private industry partners. A generic definition of optimization is the methodology of making systems function as effectively as possible. For many today, this means producing the highest quality water at the lowest total cost. Social and environmental benefits also are important and should be aligned with optimization goals.
Utilities often are presented with a new piece of equipment or software with the promise of delivering process optimization. While this is an important piece of the puzzle, new equipment alone does not equal optimization. It is what you do with this equipment that matters. The most efficient utilities are using data to make adjustments to their processes on a minute-by-minute basis.
City of Grand Rapids receives a rebate payment for their energy savings.
The staff at the wastewater treatment plant in Grand Rapids, MI, is a living example of how a utility can use a continuous flow of data to drive even more efficiency out of an equipment upgrade. After improving dissolved oxygen control through an aeration upgrade project, the staff realized they could attain even more energy savings by controlling the dissolved oxygen concentration through real-time ammonia measurements. After conducting an evaluation, the team added a water quality analyzer and controller module, which outputs a dissolved oxygen setpoint based on the ammonia load entering and leaving the aeration basin.
Mike Lunn, environmental services director, summarized the results: “Adding the real-time nitrification controller gave us better control of our effluent, and also saved us 15 percent in aeration energy costs.”
The issues facing utilities today are becoming the “new normal” of tomorrow. We can rise to meet this challenge through embracing data and establishing minute-by-minute control to run our systems as effectively as possible. If you are concerned about the challenges facing utilities, the solutions start with you. Question the status quo, learn about best practices, and reflect on past performance to develop new ideas that will improve the future.
Kurt Tyler is Marketing Vice President at Hach Company, a manufacturer of analytical instruments and reagents used to test the quality of water and other liquids, based in Loveland, Colorado. Kurt currently serves as a member of the WWEMA Board of Directors.