Water and wastewater treatment processes are increasingly complex, and plants must operate at peak performance to meet health, environmental and legal requirements.

A major challenge is the highly variable quality of the incoming water and the water in the treatment process. Many plants use algorithms to control chemicals, energy and internal streams, but this can lead to less than optimal results.

Additionally, when plant process control is suboptimal, treatment results are not stable either. As a result, utilities end up overdosing chemicals, leading to increased sludge production and sludge management costs.

DOSCADA© is a process control system integrated with an IoT solution for water and wastewater treatment plants. By using real-time sensors, both physical and virtual, plants can more accurately monitor water quality parameters and improve treatment results.

The system enhances process stability by controlling dosage of chemicals, aeration and process streams at all times, even under rapidly changing conditions. The result is better and more even treatment quality.

One DOSCADA solution specifically addresses coagulation, the world’s most common process in drinking water production. Featuring real-time monitoring, this coagulant dosing control system has been shown to reduce coagulant use by 10–30 per cent while providing extremely stable treatment results.

The DOSCADA© process control system minimises chemical and energy use, providing financial savings for utilities and reducing the environmental impact of water and wastewater treatment. When chemicals and energy are used optimally, sludge production is also reduced, as is the need for sludge management.

DOSCON estimates that companies will be able to recover their investment in a DOSCADA solution within one to three years due to chemical and energy savings alone.

The global flocculant and coagulant market is estimated to reach USD 6 billion by 2022, as more biological wastewater treatment plants begin using coagulation to meet stringent phosphorous removal requirements.

DOSCON was established in Norway in 2008, with a subsidiary in China in 2019. Customers include design consultants and organisations, SCADA providers, water companies, and end-user water and wastewater utilities.