SMART SYSTEM TO MONITOR WATER TREATMENT BASED ON

RASPBERRY PI

Bianca - Ștefania ZĂBAVĂ*, George IPATE, Gheorghe VOICU, Mirela DINCĂ,

Nicoleta UNGUREANU, Mariana FERDEŞ
*E-mail: bianca.dragoiu@yahoo.com

Department of Biotechnical Systems, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Splaiul

Independentei no. 313, Sector 6, Romania

Summary. Sedimentation is a unit operation of high importance in various wastewater

treatment systems. In a tank in which the water flow velocity is very low, the particles tend
to go to the bottom under the influence of gravity. In this study, a VL53L0X sensor is used
to determine the turbidity of the wastewater. The experiments were conducted in the
Department of Biotechnical Systems at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.
Experimental data were recorded at different time intervals to analyze the total solids
concentration (TSS), representing the interface between the particulate area in the full
decanting process and the compacted sludge area. The purpose of this study was to
determine the clarification curve of an aqueous slurry of solid particles, using the intelligent
Raspberry Pi system. The results obtained for the dishwashing powder used to carry out the
experiment, are in line with the other sedimentation rate research, obtaining a power
function. The turbidity, measured at 20sec intervals in three different points, had a variation
between 260 -11 NTU in the time interval in which the measurements were carried out
(about 80 minutes). These results contribute to improving knowledge in the field of
wastewater treatment.

Key words: settling columns, total suspended solids, turbidity, Raspberry Pi

INTRODUCTION

Sedimentation, also known as settling, is an important process in several of the unit

operations in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The most commonly known of these
unit processes are primary settling tanks, which are a treatment units before the biological
reactor, and secondary settling tanks, which are a clarification step prior to discharge into a
receiving water. Moreover, settling also plays an important role in new technologies that
are being developed such as granular sludge reactors (Torfs et al., 2016).
Sedimentation is the physical operation that separates solid particles with a density
higher than of the surrounding liquid. In a tank in which the water flow velocity is very low,
the particles tend to go to the bottom under the influence of gravity. As a result, the
supernatant liquid becomes clarified, while the particles at the bottom form a sludge layer,
and are then subsequently removed with the sludge. Sedimentation is a unit operation of
high importance in various wastewater treatment systems. The main objective in most of
the applications is to produce a clarified effluent, that is, with a low suspended solids
concentration (Marcos von Sperling, 2007).
The cumulative frequency distribution of settling velocities can not be calculated in
a theoretical way because the size, shape and mass density of the particles are unknown and
even variable with flocculent settling. The frequency distribution is found experimentally
by plotting the percentage remaining suspended solids against the settling velocity vs that
can be calculated from the depth of the sampling port under the water surface (H) divided
by the elapsed time t.
In water and wastewater treatment facilities, the mass transport and behaviour of
fine-grained cohesive sediments is influenced mainly by flocculation effects and nominal
settling velocities of particles. Hence the understanding of batch settling processes of flocs
is fundamental for effective thickener/clarifier design and control. The behaviour of
flocculating particles and settling trajectories of individual particles is very complex.
Flocculation effects and velocities are usually investigated using jar tests to establish dose,
and settling columns to evaluate the flocculation behaviour. Constant spatial and temporal
variations and fluctuating initial conditions in physical sedimentation systems result in
difficulty and uncertainty in the predictions of medium- and long-term behaviour of the
settling particles (Xu et al., 2008). During the design of sedimentation tanks, data from
settling columns are interpreted by a graphical technique. Firstly, samples are collected
from different column depths at different times and are analysed for total suspended solids
concentration (TSS). The batch settling data is then utilised to compute iso-percentage
removal profiles as a function of time and depth. From the graphs, one can predict or
calculate the removal efficiency, overflow rate and settling velocities of particles.
(Nomcebo et al., 2014).
Usher and Scales, developed an algorithm to account for the solid volume fraction of
the thickener underflow and mudline height of fundamental suspension properties. This
algorithm could not predict suspension properties in the shear process (Usher and Scales,
2005). Zhou et al., (Zhou et al., 2014), established validated mathematical model as well as
three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to characterizing the flow
regions in red mud separation thickener's feedwells. Their results showed that the inlet feed
rate and the aspect ratio of feedwells are the most important parameters which affect the
RTD of feedwell. They showed that under the optimal operation conditions, the volume
fraction of dead zone can be reduced by 10.8% and the volume fraction of mixing flow can
be increased by 6.5%.
In this study, a VL53L0X sensor was used to determine the turbidity of the
wastewater. Experimental data were recorded at different time intervals to analyze the total
solids concentration (TSS), representing the interface between the particulate area in the
full decanting process and the compacted sludge area. The VL53L0X is a new generation
Time-of-Flight (ToF) laser-ranging module housed in the smallest package on the market
today, providing accurate distance measurement whatever the target reflectances unlike
conventional technologies. It can measure absolute distances up to 2m, setting a new
benchmark in ranging performance levels, opening the door to various new applications.
The VL53L0X integrates a leading-edge SPAD array (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes)
and embeds ST’s second generation FlightSenseTM patented technology. The VL53L0X’s
940nm VCSEL emitter (Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser), is totally invisible to the
human eye, coupled with internal physical infrared filters, it enables longer ranging
distance, higher immunity to ambient light and better robustness to cover-glass optical
cross-talk.
The data recorded with this sensor was used to determine the clarification curve of
an aqueous suspension of solid particles using the intelligent Raspberry Pi system. The
sedimentation velocity was determined, by means of calculations, with the Pi camera
attached to Raspberry Pi device.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental research was carried out in a stationary field on a laboratory stand

(figure 1a), consisting on a plexiglass column, with the dimensions: 220 mm long, 30 mm
diameter, 100 ml capacity, VL53L0X turbidity sensor, Raspberry Pi device and Pi camera.
Recording of the interface between the clarified water area and the sludge area was viewed
in real-time on a PC screen by taking photos at a certain time using a camera connected to
the Raspberry Pi device.
To achieve experimental research has been used an aqueous suspension of the
dishwashing powder as follows: in 100 mL of tap water was added an amount of 5 g of
dishwashing powder.
If in a glass column there is introduced a certain amount of diluted suspension,
composed of water and settleable solid particles and let it rest, it can be observed, after a
period of time, the appearance of three distinct characteristic areas, namely: a zone of
clarified water at the top of the column, a zone with an aqueous suspension of solid
particles in the process of sedimentation at the middle of the tube and and a zone with
concentrated settled sludge at the bottom of the column, according to the decantation
scheme of figure 1 b(Safta et al., 2017; Sajeev et al. 2002).

b
a
Fig. 1 a. stand for the realization of the experimental part
b. the decantation scheme of a suspension in the stationary column

These three areas are separated by two interfaces, namely: a clarified water –
aqueous suspension of solid particles interface and an aqueous suspension of solid particles
– concentrated settled sludge interface.
If the interfaces are recorded in time and plotted, the clarification curve of an
aqueous suspension of solid particles is obtained, representing the variation of the solution's
turbidity over time (Safta et al., 2012).
 The purpose of the experimental research it was to determine the turbidity of the
wastewater, the solid particle concentration (TSS) and the sedimentation velocity of the
solid particles in the wastewater. In the following are presented the steps to determine these
parameters.
a) Regarding the turbidity of the wastewater, it was measure it in three points at
different heights on the graduated column, namely at 55mm, 65mm and 75mm respectively.
For each set height, the turbidity of the water was measured for about 80 minutes, the
measurements being made from 20 to 20 seconds.
The measurements were made using a VL53L0X turbidity sensor, and the values
recorded in the NTU were converted to mass concentration using the equation, (Sithebe et
al., 2014):
ln (TSS) = 1.5 ln (NTU) + 0.15 (1)
The conversion was based on the method proposed by Packman et al (1999), which
consists of the 10-point calibration line of a TSS versus NTU dataset (R2 = 0.97). Based on
the experimental data obtained for turbidity, the variation curve of the suspension was
determined using a power function of the type:
a = k* tb (2)
The measured values used to trace the clarification curve of an aqueous suspension
of solid particles.
b) Regarding the sedimentation velocity of the solid particles, it was determined by
calculation using the image processing method of the separation interface between the
clarified area and the sludge area with the Pi camera attached to the Raspberry Pi device.
To capture the images, the program created for this type of experiment in the Pyton
programming language (version 3.4), running on a Raspberry Pi with Raspbian operating
system, was used. In this case, the measurements were also made at 20s.
Several analytical systems have been proposed in the literature to simulate the
removal of solid particles. In this study, it was used the mathematical expression proposed
by Cho et al. (1993), which introduced the concept of "solid flux" for the calculation of
sedimentation. Until the present, two empirical models have been successfully used to
design decanters for solid material flows. These include the power law model (Eq. (3)) and
the exponential model (Eq. (4)):
v = kh-n (3)
v = k exp (-nh) (4)
where:
k, h and n are the maximum sedimentation rates, the interface level and the model
parameter, respectively.
The exponential pattern is reasonable in dilute concentrations but is much more
complicated in designing a decanter. The law of power model, on the other hand, becomes
infinite in a range of diluted concentrations (Sithebe et al., 2014).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Turbidity data was determined from the three points located at different heights on
the sedimentation column for 80 minutes. These were converted to the mass concentration
according to equation (1).
 In table 1 are presented the turbidity values determined experimentally at three
heights: 75mm (T_ex75), 65mm (T_ex65) and 55mm (T_ex55); the turbidity values
determined by the regression function: 75mm (T_75), 65mm (T_65) and 55 mm (T_55) and
the mass concentration determined after conversion, for five moments of time.
Table 1. Experimental results obtained in the process of sedimentation
Time T_ex75 T_ex65 T_ex55 T_75 T_65 T_55 Ln Ln Ln
[min] [NTU] [NTU] [NTU] [NTU] [NTU] [NTU] TSS_75 TSS_65 TSS_55

10 59.42 25.30 57.70 53.57 34.03 43.83 6.27 5.00 6.23

20 19.93 21.05 26.25 38.52 22.84 29.92 4.63 4.72 5.05

40 19.93 16.94 26.25 27.69 15.33 20.43 4.63 4.39 5.01821

60 11.05 9.34 26.25 22.83 12.14 16.34 3.75 3.50 5.05

80 11.05 13.04 26.25 20.07 10.39 14.08 3.75 4.00 5.05

Based on experimental data was plotted the clarification curve corresponding to the
three points in which was measured the turbidity ( Figure 2).

Fig. 2 The turbidity variation over time for the three points of measurement
(T_ex75, T_ex65, T_ex55 - the experimental values
T_75, T_65, T_55 - the values determined by regression)

The experimental results, for all three set heights, were processed using Microsoft
Excel using regression analysis for each sedimentation area. According to figure 2, it can be
seen that the turbidity value in the 80 minutes in which the measurements were made, for
the height of 75 mm decreased from 260 NTU to approx. 11 NTU, for the height of 65 mm
the turbidity had values between 222 and 13 NTU, and for the height of 55 mm, the
turbidity had variations from 246 to 26 NTU.
 In the graphically represented data sets a reasonable match of experimental data with
regression data is observed. According to this variation, it can be observed that as time
passes, the degree of turbidity in the solution decreases. The same can be seen in figure 3,
where is presented the variation in time of the natural logarithm of the solid particle
concentration.
In datasets (Figures 2-3), it can observe a correlation of the data with those obtained
by Sithebe et al. (2014).

Fig. 3 The variation of the natural logarithm of the concentrations to solids

Figure 4a shows the evolution of sedimentation rate over time, determined by

calculation using equation 4, following the experimental determination of the level of the
separation interface between the clear area and the sludge area (Figure 4b), by processing
the images captured by means of the Pi camera. In Figure 4a, the magenta colour curve
represents the experimentally determined sedimentation velocity values and with the blue
line, the sedimentation velocity values calculated by numerical integration of the
differential equation from the model proposed by Je and Chang (2004), in their paper:
dv/ dt = a/ tk (5)
The dotted line in the graphical representation indicates the values of sedimentation
velocity calculated analytically by solving the differential equation mentioned above.
It is noticed that at the initial moment, the sedimentation velocity value is 4.5 mm s-1,
and in second 120 it decreases to 0.8 mm s-1. Thus it can be concluded that as the time
passes, the sedimentation velocity of the solid particles in a suspension decreases.
 Fig. 4 - a. the rate of sedimentation variation over time
b. the evolution of the solid-liquid interface

In Figure 4b, the blue curve represents the variation of the height of the interface
between the clarified area and the sludge area determined experimentally, and in red is
represented the height of the interface calculated by numerical integration of the differential
equation:
dh/ dt = 3a*t2 + b*t + c (6)
The green line indicates the height values of the analytically calculated interface by
solving the differential equation mentioned above. Figure 4b shows that the height of the
solid particle layer increases over time.
The experimental results obtained are in correlation with those obtained by Sithebe
et al. (2014), as well as those obtained by Je and Chang (2004).

CONCLUSIONS

Sedimentation is a unit operation of high importance in various wastewater

treatment systems. In a tank in which the water flow velocity is very low, the particles tend
to go to the bottom under the influence of gravity . The results obtained for the dishwashing
powder used to carry out the experiment, are in line with the other sedimentation rate
research, obtaining a power function. The turbidity, measured at 20sec intervals in three
different points, had a variation between 260 -11 NTU in the time interval in which the
measurements were carried out (about 80 minutes). It was also noted that the velocity
decreases with time as fewer and less heavy particles remain in suspension.
Automation of data analysis will enable engineers and scientists to perform more
advanced interpolation/optimisation schemes of settling column data to improve design
accuracy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministery of Research and
Innovation, CCCDI - UEFISCDI, project number 27PCCDI/2018, entitled „Innovative
technologies for crop irrigation in arid, semi-arid and sub-dry climate", within PNCDI III.

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