In situ monitoring and management of Activated Sludge for reduced energy usage and carbon emissions

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The Water Industry uses up to 2% of all electricity generated to aerate activated sludge in order to optimise biological activity (to break down sewage). Water companies are under huge pressure from Government and stakeholders to reduce this cost and associated carbon emissions.Bactest aims to develop Shepherd, an advanced, on-line instrument with real time monitoring and control capability for improved process efficiency in wastewater treatment. Based on BACTEST’s CYTOMAIA technology platform, Shepherd will demonstrate a technologically innovative, in-situ real time monitoring and feedback system that measures biomass in activated sludge with the goal of reducing aeration.The water industry is legendary for resisting change. Shepherd will be designed to beretrofitted into existing waste water treatment facilities, in addition to being modular and low cost.The Water Industry currently uses BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) as a standard testing paradigm. However BOD is not a suitable technique for real time management of activated sludge as the test takes five days. Our project innovation is to develop a real time BOD proxy suitable to manage and optimise plant processes.The Water Industry is under considerable pressure to cut both operating costs and carbon emissions. Shepherd will enable water companies to cut carbon emissions by generating decision support data that can be used in real time to operate plants to their optimal design whilst assuring that process changes made do not negatively impact the plant’s mandatory regulatory compliance.The key goals of Shepherd are to:• Enable water companies to cut cost and carbon emissions• Provide real time data on biomass in existing waste water facilities• Deliver assurance that the biological process is optimal• Enable aeration systems to be more effectively used• Reduce the biological demand for air by optimising biomassWe estimate a global market of 20,000 sites with a value of £750m.