Author(s): Daniel Carreres-Prieto; Juan T. Garcia; Fernando Cerdan-Cartagena; Juan Suardiaz-Muro; Luis G. Castillo Elsitdie; Jose M. Carrillo

Linked Author(s): Daniel Carreres-prieto, José M. Carrillo

Keywords: Wastewater pollutant characterization; Real-time analysis; LED spectrophotometer

Abstract: The European Union legislation highlights the need to minimize the pollution emitted to the receiving environment due to overflows from sewage systems during rainfall episodes. Real-time information of the evolution of pollutants along the sewage system is essential to provide an early warning that helps in the operation of the wastewater treatment plants. However, current systems for characterizing the polluting load have high costs, consumption and operational complexity that make them difficult to spread along the sewer network. These systems are usually based on the collection of specific samples, which are analyzed in the laboratories of the wastewater treatment plants, which reduces the capacity to respond to events such as intense rainfalls. In order to know the evolution of the pollutant load in the sanitation networks in real time, this research work has focused on the own-development of a low-cost, small-dimensions and low-consumption equipment based on a spectrophotometric analysis with LED technology in the range of 380 to 700 nm, which works without any pre-treatment to the samples or chemical substances addition. This research work describes the main design conditions of the equipment, as well as, estimation models calculated by means of genetic algorithms are included for the estimation of COD, BOD5, TSS, TP and TN from the spectral response, with Pearson's coefficient between 80-95% in most models.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC252171192022207

Year: 2022