Abstract:

On approximately December 26, 2005, a publicly owned industrial treatment works (POITW) with high industrial loading treating approximately 27 million gallons per day experienced a treatment upset that significantly affected biological treatment performance through early January 2006. This paper addresses some of the major challenges associated with treatment plant upset events, including identifying the onset of the upset condition and determining the cause and source of the upset. Although the cause for the December 2005 plant performance upset could not be determined, the method of analysis outlined here can be applied at any facility investigating a treatment upset event. This paper presents recommendations for additional monitoring to assist with identifying the onset of potential future upset conditions and sources.

Keywords: POITW; PERFORMANCE UPSET; TROUBLESHOOTING; CONTROL CHARTING; UPSET EARLY WARNING

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.2175/193317708X335208