Optimizing Membrane Filtration Systems Through the Application of Digital Twins

This paper provides two project case studies, City of Spokane and Gwinnett County, where dynamic simulation was used to assist with the design and optimization of membrane facilities. The City of Spokaneís 150 million gallons per day (mgd) Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility (Riverside Park) is in the process of adding a tertiary treatment system including a 75 mgd peak flow pressurized microfiltration membrane system. For the City of Spokane, a digital twin was built that accurately represents the hydraulics of the pressurized membrane system along with control logic for the feed pumps, rack sequencing, and auxiliary cleaning equipment to improve system understanding and serve as an ongoing operational tool. Figure 1 shows an overview of the Riverside Park model. For the Gwinnett County F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center (FWHWRC), a detailed hydraulics and controls digital twin of a 40 mgd submerged membrane tertiary treatment system was created to analyze operational alternatives to reduce flow fluctuations negatively impacting the downstream pre- and post-ozonation processes. Figure 2 shows an overview of the FWHWRC model.