Eco-Design of a Wastewater Treatment System Based on Process Integration

Abstract

Because almost all industrial plants have wastewater treatment systems, eco-design of the systems is an effective way to reduce environmental impacts and economic costs of industry sectors. The eco-design using biobjective optimization has, however, a limitation due to the subjective weighting on the two objectives. The objective of this study is to eco-design existing wastewater treatment systems based on process integration by converting biobjective to single objective problems. For the mathematical optimization model, an objective function is formulated by monetizing environmental impacts to external costs and summing the external and economic costs. Mass balances and constraints are formulated to reflect the superstructure model and real situations. Two case studies are performed to verify the developed model. The eco-design outcomes are compared to their respective economic cost-and environmental impact-minimized designs. This comparison shows that the developed model optimizes the trade-offs between the biobjectives. This study can be applied to reduce environmental impacts and economic costs of other process systems.

A numerical‐indicator‐based method for design of distributed wastewater treatment systems with multiple contaminants

“…Karuppiah et al also addressed the problem of optimal design of RO water treatment systems with a superstructure optimization method. Park et al considered the eco‐designs of the existing wastewater treatment systems which optimized the trade‐offs between the environmental impacts and economic costs. Alnouri et al presented integration strategies for optimal design of interplant water networks within an industrial city, in which centralized and decentralized water treatment options were introduced.…”

A Generalized Interval Fuzzy Chance-Constrained Programming Method for Domestic Wastewater Management Under Uncertainty – A Case Study of Kunming, China

“…Recently, a number of mathematical models related to domestic wastewater management systems have been developed (Butler and Schütze 2005;Chen and Chen 2014;Chen et al 2013;Izquierdo et al 2008;Kang and Lansey 2012;Karuppiah and Grossmann 2006;Park et al 2013;Rojek 2014;Sousa et al 2002). For example, Butler and Schütze (2005) described the development of integrated optimization modelling of the operation and control of urban wastewater management systems, and the results indicated that river quality can be significantly improved by implementing an integrated urban wastewater control strategy.…”

“…For example, Butler and Schütze (2005) described the development of integrated optimization modelling of the operation and control of urban wastewater management systems, and the results indicated that river quality can be significantly improved by implementing an integrated urban wastewater control strategy. Park et al (2013) developed a bi-objective optimization model to eco-design an existing wastewater treatment system for reducing the environmental impacts and economic costs of industry sectors. Based on previous studies, wastewater management is not a trivial process and there are considerable uncertainties inherent in it, such as multiple forms of uncertainties in public policies, government incentives, and the associated capital and operating costs (Flores-Alsina et al 2008;Sin et al 2011;Tjandraatmadja et al 2013;Trinh et al 2013).…”