In an era where efficiency and sustainability are the buzzwords on everyone’s lips, I’ve stumbled upon a topic that has the potential to revolutionize the way we manage our most precious resource – water. As I delve into the world of wastewater treatment plant automation, I can’t help but feel a surge of excitement. This is no longer just about pipes and valves; it’s about harnessing the power of technology to unlock a whole new level of optimization and cost-savings.
The Changing Tides of Wastewater Management
Let’s start with a stark reality – our global population is skyrocketing, and the demand for clean, reliable water is growing at an unprecedented rate. Governments and utility companies are facing an uphill battle to ensure that everyone has access to this essential service. But the challenges don’t stop there. We’re also grappling with the finite nature of our freshwater supply and the looming effects of climate change. It’s a perfect storm that calls for a radical rethinking of how we approach wastewater treatment.
As Gema Endüstriyel Kontrol, a silver-level system integrator in the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork, recently demonstrated in Türkiye, the key to overcoming these obstacles lies in the widespread adoption of digital solutions and automation.
Modernizing the Old Guard
Imagine a water treatment plant that’s been chugging along for decades, doing its job but showing its age. That’s the reality that the team at İzmit Su AŞ (İSAŞ) faced in Kocaeli, one of Türkiye’s biggest industrial cities. The plant’s 25-year-old control system may have been functional, but it was plagued by issues like obsolescence, dwindling spare parts, and the potential for costly downtime.
As Mehmet Küçüksari, the group information technology manager at İSAŞ, aptly put it, “The existing system was showing its age in other aspects too. It was not as user-friendly as newer solutions, and even simple I/O problems were hard to remedy.”
Recognizing the need for a change, the team at İSAŞ embarked on a mission to find a contemporary distributed control system (DCS) that could breathe new life into their aging infrastructure. And that’s where Gema Endüstriyel Kontrol came into the picture.
A Seamless Transition: From Old to New
Gökhan Yildiz, the Technical Manager at Gema Endüstriyel Kontrol, recalls the project with a sense of pride. “Downtime was not an option on this project. The plant serves 16 million customers in the province. An interruption to the water supply was unthinkable.”
To ensure a smooth transition, the team undertook extensive pre-engineering and parallel commissioning. They utilized Rockwell Automation’s Studio 5000 Application Code Manager (ACM) to create the software for all the process controllers, defining the necessary logic in the process. Once tested and verified offline, the team proceeded with factory acceptance testing (FAT) and site acceptance testing (SAT) simultaneously during the commissioning phase.
And the payoff? “As expected, the switchover from the old system to the new system went without a hitch and more importantly, without any downtime,” Yildiz proudly attests.
Unlocking the Power of Connectivity
While the primary goal of this modernization project was not digital transformation, the deployment of the Rockwell Automation PlantPAx DCS has opened up a world of possibilities for İSAŞ. As Küçüksari explains, “There was no defined specification for wider connectivity to other systems across the plant, but the PlantPAx DCS gives us much better access to auxiliary water-treatment systems.”
One such system is the chlorine-dosing plant, which previously relied on a separate SCADA solution to collect data. Now, with the PlantPAx DCS, İSAŞ can combine all essential data into a single viewpoint, streamlining their operations and decision-making process.
But the benefits don’t stop there. The new reporting system empowers the operations team with far more in-depth access to real-time data, which can be analyzed and acted upon much more quickly. Plant efficiency has also seen a significant boost, with tighter control of consumables and reduced energy consumption through better management of the pumps.
Optimizing the User Experience
As Küçüksari points out, the operator interface of the new system is a game-changer. “It’s so much easier to operate. We completely redesigned the operator screens using guidelines from the ISA 101 whitepaper published by Rockwell Automation.”
Gone are the days of cluttered screens and overwhelming color schemes. The new interface, inspired by best practices, is a study in simplicity and elegance. Greyscale backgrounds with bold colors used only for alarms or areas of concern deliver critical data in real-time, allowing operators to fine-tune parameters without delving into the programming level.
“The more technical and detailed diagnostic tools will also help us to maintain the system more efficiently,” Küçüksari adds, “ensuring clean, fresh drinking water for the 16 million customers in the region without the risk of an interrupted supply.”
Beyond Automation: The Broader Benefits of Digitalization
While the İSAŞ project showcases the power of automation in wastewater treatment, the larger story here is the transformative potential of digitalization. As Luiza Moreno, a marketing specialist at Aquacycl, explains, the integration of advanced sensors, data analytics, and automated controls can unlock a whole host of benefits for industrial facilities.
Real-Time Monitoring and Optimization
By leveraging real-time data and analytics, plant operators can gain unprecedented insights into their treatment processes. This allows for fine-tuning of parameters, from chemical dosing to energy consumption, leading to significant cost savings and increased efficiency.
Ensuring Compliance and Sustainability
In an increasingly stringent regulatory landscape, digitalization helps industrial facilities maintain compliance by providing accurate and reliable data on key pollutants. It also contributes to broader sustainability goals by minimizing environmental impact and enabling resource recovery and reuse.
Predictive Maintenance and Remote Control
The ability to monitor and control wastewater treatment systems remotely, coupled with predictive maintenance algorithms, can further drive down operating costs and minimize unplanned downtime. This frees up valuable personnel time to focus on other areas of the operation.
The Future is Automated
As the world continues to grapple with the challenges of population growth, resource scarcity, and climate change, the water treatment industry is poised for a digital revolution. Automation and digitalization hold the key to unlocking new levels of efficiency, optimization, and sustainability – a future that is not only possible but necessary.
So, as I reflect on my journey through the world of wastewater treatment plant automation, I can’t help but feel a sense of optimism. The future is bright, and it’s powered by technology – a future where clean, reliable water is accessible to all, and the impact on the environment is minimized. And who knows, maybe one day, Inland Waters Inc. will be at the forefront of this revolution, leading the charge towards a more sustainable and efficient water management landscape.
