A knowledge base for wastewater treatment plants: the case of an activated-sludge facility

Abstract Due to the inexpensiveness of their operations in places where there is scarcity of land, activated-sludge systems are a common treatment method for wastewater; however like other methods for wastewater, its knowledge is more heuristic than analytical, and a good performance depends more on the expertise of both the designers and the operators. This is an ideal place for the application of expert system technology. The paper discusses knowledge acquisition methods applied in the study of an activated-sludge treatment plant that went through some refinements before it performed adequately. With the experience gained from it, the authors regard the knowledge base acquired as a fruitful result to be used in the control and improvement of operation conditions of other plants, as well for the training of new operators.