Economic model predictive control of wastewater treatment plants based on BSM1 using linear prediction models

In this paper, we have developed an Economical Model Predictive Control (EMPC) for a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) with the use of a standard semidefinite programming solver. In this case, the objective has been to keep the ammonium concentration in the effluent under limits manipulating the air insufflation pumps at the biological reactor and an internal recycle valve. The minimized cost function consists of the product of the energy consumed by the air insufflator and the cost of the electricity, taking into account the variations of the tariffs over the day. We have simulated the behaviour of the WWTP using the Benchmark Model Simulation n° 1 (BSMI), and we have developed a linear prediction model in order to apply the EMPC method.