• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.151-164
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• 2024

In water treatment plants supplying potable water, the management of chlorine concentration in water treatment processes involving pre-chlorination or intermediate chlorination requires process control. To address this, research has been conducted on water quality prediction techniques utilizing AI technology. This study developed an AI-based predictive model for automating the process control of chlorine disinfection, targeting the prediction of residual chlorine concentration downstream of sedimentation basins in water treatment processes. The AI-based model, which learns from past water quality observation data to predict future water quality, offers a simpler and more efficient approach compared to complex physicochemical and biological water quality models. The model was tested by predicting the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basins at Plant, using multiple regression models and AI-based models like Random Forest and LSTM, and the results were compared. For optimal prediction of residual chlorine concentration, the input-output structure of the AI model included the residual chlorine concentration upstream of the sedimentation basin, turbidity, pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity, inflow of raw water, alkalinity, NH₃, etc. as independent variables, and the desired residual chlorine concentration of the effluent from the sedimentation basin as the dependent variable. The independent variables were selected from observable data at the water treatment plant, which are influential on the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin. The analysis showed that, for Plant, the model based on Random Forest had the lowest error compared to multiple regression models, neural network models, model trees, and other Random Forest models. The optimal predicted residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin presented in this study is expected to enable real-time control of chlorine dosing in previous treatment stages, thereby enhancing water treatment efficiency and reducing chemical costs.

• Clean Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.57-67
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• 2005

Epoxy resins are produced by the dehydro condensated reaction with ECH (Epichlorohydrin) and BPA(Bisphenol-A) as raw reactants under sodium hydroxide(NaOH) as a catalyst, and from this reaction, salted water named of brine, which contains ECH derivatives in condition of emulsion as likely as glycidol and polymer resins, is produced as an undesired side product. This brine water is alkaline wastewater and causes process fouling problems by plugging and chemically depositing polymer particles on the surface of inner wall of reactors and pipes, and decreases the biodegradable efficiency in the wastewater process. In this study, the optimization of coagulation and sediment reactions, using inorganic and organic polymer coagulants, were performed to remove the causes occurring the process fouling phenomena. And also, based on this study, the methodologies applicable to the commercial processes including economical analysis were presented.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.427-436
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• 2004

Sedimentation is one of the most common and important units in conventional water treatment plants. Structure such as various baffle walls and inclined plate settler may be obstacles to the horizontal flow when it is poorly designed. Therefore, the effects of these structures on characteristics of hydraulic flow must be evaluated to improve the settling efficiency of the floc. The hydraulic characteristic of the four sedimentations at the three real WTPs (water treatment plants), which have different structural properties respectively inside the settling basin, were investigated by tracer (fluoride) test. The inclined plate settler installed inside settling basin caused a undesirable impact on horizontal flow and produced dead zone. Intermediate baffle and solid baffle wall under the inclined plate settler at GE plant help to minimize the formation of density currents and flow short circuiting. However, installing perforated baffle under the inclined plate settler at other plants could not induce even distribution of flow. NaF used as a tracer was recovered more than 90% at investigated all basin. Morill index ($t_{90}/t_{10}$), Modal index ($t_p/T-HRT$) and short-circuiting index ($[M-HRT-t_p/M-HRT$) were determined from tracer test results performed at three WTPs. Those indices ranged 2.99~3.45, 0.44~0.72 and 0.23~0.47, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.911-918
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• 2006

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the launder type on settling performance and hydrodynamic behavior within the two certain full-scale sedimentation basins (each flow rate/one basin; $10,000m^3/d$); one is the transverse typed launder(existing basin) and the other is building the finger type launder in combination with the longitudinal baffle. Comparative experimental investigations have been carried out through residual turbidity and particle concentration measurements in each effluent from two basins with the transverse and the finger type launders, respectively. From the experimental results, we could observe that turbidity removal rate in the finger type launder basin (modified basin) is about 30% higher than that in the transverse type launder basin (existing basin). Also, from the measurement of total particle concentration in each effluent, the removal efficiency was improved about 27% within modified basin compared to the existing basin. In order to explain the comparative experimental results and investigate the hydridynamic behavior within each basin in more detail, we conducted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and verified simulation results with acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) technique. From the CFD simulation, it was investigated that extreme upward flow occurs underneath of the transverse launder. On the other hand, in the case of modified basin, the upward flow, which occurred in the beneath of launder, was much less than that in the existing basins.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1187-1195
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• 2009

The objective of this study is to investigate the coagulation characteristics of the completely mixed chamber for wastewater treatment. The completely mixed chamber system was composed of the reservoirs, the three-stage mixing and coagulation part with propeller impeller, the injection parts of coagulants, a sedimentation tank and a control panel. Wastewater sample of pH 8.5 and initial turbidity 1,000NTU was prepared using sludge taken from a tunneling work site. The efficiency of turbidity removal with increasing the dosage of coagulant aids increased by about 99%. Increasing coagulant above the optimal dosage, however, the efficiency of turbidity removal decreased.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.401-410
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• 2017

This study analyzed the changes in the concentrations of organic matters in constructed treatment wetlands, coming from discharge water from a sewage treatment plant and non-point pollutant sources during rainfall events. At the beginning of a rainfall event, a massive amount of particulate organic matter flowed in, and was removed from the sedimentation basin (S1, S2); dissolved organic matter was removed after passing through stepwise treatment processes in the wetland. During dry period in the wetland, the removal efficiency rate for COD and TOC was -21 and -7%, respectively; during the rainfall event, the removal efficiency rate for COD and TOC were 47 and 43%, respectively. The highly-concentrated organic matters that flowd in at the beginning of the rainfall event was stabilized by various structures in the wetland before water discharge. Cyanobacteria blooms annually at the confluence of the So-ok stream and Daecheong Lake. Therefore, it is expected that the wetland will contribute significantly to reducing cyanobacteria and improving water quality in the area.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2006

Sedimentation characteristics such as SS, COD removal efficiency of wastewater in the toilet paper mill using recycled paper were examined by zeta potential. Optimum dosage of coagulant were determined by turbidity, SS, COD and then equation for treatment efficiency was suggested. Mechanical strength of floc was determined by turbidity.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 2009

The removal efficiency of herbicide glyphosate in a drinking water treatment system was investigated. Four major processes of a drinking water treatment system were selected and experiments were performed separately including; treatments by sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), a sedimentation process by PAC (polyaluminum chloride), ozonation and a GAC (granular activated carbon) treatment. In the sodium hypochlorite experiment, about 50% of the glyphosate was removed by 2 mg/L of hypochlorite and more than 90% was eliminated when 5 mg/L of NaOCl was applied. Also, AMPA, the main metabolite of glyphosate, was treated with hypochlorite. More than 30% of the AMPA was removed by 2 mg/L of hypochlorite and 50% by 5 mg/L. In the PAC experiment, it was determined that more than 60% could be removed. Further experiments were performed and the results indicated that the removed amount was dependent upon the amount of soil and upon the properties of the soil especially that of clay minerals. Ozonation could oxidize glyphosate to its byproducts at about a level of 50%. In contrast, when 1 mg/L of glyphosate was treated with GAC, the amount removed was negligible. The results of this experiment were conclusive. We confirmed that drinking water, which has been contaminated with water polluted with glyphosate can be effectively purified by the application of the drinking water treatment processes currently used.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.97-103
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• 2006

Excess sludge treatment and disposal currently represent a rising challenge for domestic or wastewater treatment plants due to economic, environmental and regulation factors. Conventional gravity sedimentation process has been widely used in sludge thickening. The operation method of the process is very simple, but the process requires long detention time for sludge thickening, uses polymers, and shows low sludge thickening efficiency. To solve the problems, we studied on DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) system. We use bulking sludge of a paper manufacturing plant. The effects of parameters such as SVI (Sludge Volume Index), storage time, initial concentration and wet density of excess sludge were examined. The results showed that the more SVI was low, the more sludge was thickened. As storage time goes by, SVI was increased and thickening performance was deteriorated. In order to improve flotation performance at high concentration, high recycling ratio and pressure did not increase the concentration due to thickening limitation. The addition of 0.8 g/L of loess was increased flotation efficiency of 1.41 times.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.222-227
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• 2004

Flotation processes involve the use of very small bubbles (micro-bubbles) to separate particles from water. The process has become a good alternative to sedimentation, especially where the particles are small or of low density. Although the flotation process commences with a collision between particles and bubbles, most research has been focused only on the characteristics of the particles. In this paper, recent theoretical and experimental research on the characteristics of bubbles is summarized. The effect on the collision efficiency of the size and charge of bubbles is calculated through trajectory analysis. The size and charge of bubbles are measured under different conditions and the ramifications of the results are discussed. The results may lead to a better understanding and optimization of the existing process. In particular, we discuss an idea that a new advanced flotation process might be possible by the modification of the characteristics of the bubble alone or of both bubble and particle.