KISeKoPo – Smart wastewater treatment plant: Activating sector coupling potential through digitization

KI:SeKoPo will create the basis for a multi-year national or even international research project by systematically evaluating the following points:

• Analysis of wastewater treatment plant processes with a special focus on our innovation approach
• Identification of new and not yet exhausted sector coupling potential
• Analysis of the data available in wastewater treatment plants today and the data required for a digital twin.
• Identification of a viable structure for the knowledge representation (onthology) for managing the data and models in the digital twin
• Identification of viable modelling and optimization approaches
• Evaluation of the necessary technology to build a digital twin and realization of the full sector coupling potential
• Techno-economic analysis of our innovation approach.

The main innovation of KI:SeKoPo is the connection of water, energy and nutrients on a digital twin platform. In this way, the not yet realized sector coupling potential of the water-energy-nutrient nexus is made possible and combined with the real-time capabilities and flexibility of the digital twin.

The aim is to:

• realize a digital twin for the design and operational optimization of wastewater treatment plants to increase the coupling potential of the energy sector
• to enable the coupling potential of the nutrient sector to create a tool for the virtual evaluation of new technologies in wastewater treatment plants
• to develop tailor-made optimization approaches for wastewater treatment plants