Wastewater compose an environmental risk as it contains high levels of nutrients, including phosphorus. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) reduce phosphorus by using coagulants that precipitate soluble phosphate into metal phosphate, which is separated by settling. Coagulant flow is regulated by a control strategy, typically feedforward or feedback control. Feedforward is based on incoming wastewater disturbances whereas feedback control uses outgoing process values. Incoming phosphate is hard to measure and can be estimated using soft sensors. Modelling control strategies can help decide which strategy that is most suitable. Models describing phosphorus removal are Activated Sludge Model, ASM2d, and primary clarifier model. ASM2d models phosphorus precipitation and the primary clarifier model settling of particles. Tivoli WWTP faces challenges to reach effluent requirements of phosphorus. The wastewater flows through an equalisation tank, Regnbågen, before being pumped to Tivoli. Particulate matter settles in Regnbågen, which is removed by reducing the water level in Regnbågen. This rapidly increases incoming particulate load to Tivoli.Tivoli’s current control strategy is feedforward proportional to suspended solids. It is suspected, that this strategy overdose coagulant during the emptying of Regnbågen. The purpose of this thesis was to find the optimal control strategy for phosphorus precipitation at Tivoli WWTP, by using a model-based approach. Control strategies modelled are; feedforward, feedback and these two control strategies combined. Additional issues resolved are 1) calibration of a model that predicts the effect of chemical dosage on effluent phosphorus concentration from the primary clarifier, 2) calibrationof a soft sensor, 3) determination of which control strategy that is most suitable. ASM2d and a primary clarifier model were used to create a model describing chemical phosphorus removal. The calibration matches measured phosphate concentration, but underestimate peaks. The primary clarifier model was calibrated by minimising load differences for phosphate and total suspended solids, and was calibrated satisfyingly. A simplified soft sensor was constructed, described by a linear relationship between phosphate and pH. Three disturbances for feedforward control were analysed; measured phosphate, the soft sensors estimation of phosphate and Tivoli’s current controlstrategy. The optimal control strategy was found through a multi-criteria analysis. The optimal control strategy is the combined control strategy, when feedforward is proportional to incoming measured phosphate. The performance of all analysed feedforward disturbances were significantly improved when combined with feedback control. Furthermore, consequential errors are distinct when the soft sensor miss-predictincoming phosphate concentration. If the phosphate concentration cannot be correctly measured/estimated, feedback control alone has the best performance.

Depuis une dizaine d'années, les procédés de granulation aérobie sont apparus comme une technologie prometteuse pour le traitement des effluents fortement chargés en azote, phosphore et carbone, tels que ceux issus de l'agro-industrie. La complexité microbienne de ces granules et les mécanismes qui leur donnent des propriétés exceptionnelles de décantation et de cohésion, constituent encore des axes de recherche importants. Dans cette thèse, le travail s'est axé sur un mécanisme encore non étudié : les processus de précipitation des phosphates au cœur des granules microbiennes. Différentes techniques d'analyses spectrales, parfois adaptés pour la première fois à ce type de systèmes, comme la spectroscopie Raman, ont permis de caractériser la nature de ces minéraux formés au cœur des granules. L'analyse menée sur des réacteurs de laboratoires a démontré la présence des phosphates de calcium sous forme d'hydroxyapatite [Ca5(PO4)3(OH)]. Cette précipitation est potentiellement induite par les variations locales de pH et de sursaturation provoqués par les réactions microbiennes à l'intérieur des granules. L'étude des phénomènes de biominéralisation à été étendu aux granules anaérobies issus des réacteurs de type UASB de l'industrie laitière. Un modèle physico-chimique sur les processus de précipitation sous forme matriciel sur AQUASIM®, couplé avec des bases de calcul de sursaturation (PHREEQC®), ont permis d'avancer des hypothèses sur les mécanismes influençant ces processus de biominéralisation, tels que la formation d'un précurseur amorphe de l'hydroxyapatite (ACP), ainsi que d'identifier les constantes de précipitation thermodynamiques (pKsp|20ºC=28.07±0.58) et cinétiques dans différentes conditions opératoires. Grâce au suivi d'un système biologique GSBR (Granular Sludge Sequenced Batch Reactor) pendant plus de 900 jours, la contribution de ce phénomène aux processus de déphosphatation a été estimé (46% dans les conditions testées). L'utilisation de ce processus pour immobiliser efficacement le phosphore et apporter des propriétés physiques stables aux granules a été également discutée. Une évaluation des performances et de la stabilité du réacteur à été mis en œuvre en alternant des cycles anoxies/aérobies ou anaérobies/aérobies vis-à-vis d'une future application industrielle. L'induction locale de la précipitation par les variations de pH et par le relargage des phosphates par les réactions microbiennes, nécessite une modélisation appropriée, qui a été également initiée dans cette thèse / Over the last decade, aerobic granulation processes have araised as a promising technology for treating wastewater effluents containing high nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon concentrations. The microbial complexity of granules and the mechanisms by which they acquire excellent settleability properties, still constitute important research goals to investigate. This thesis is focused on a mechanism that has been little addressed in literature, that is, phosphate precipitation in the core of aerobic granules. Different analytical techniques, sometimes adapted for the first time to this type of systems, like Raman spectroscopy, have let an exhaustive characterization of biominerals in the core of granules. Analyses performed on aerobic granules grown with synthetic fed in a lab-scale SBR (Sequential Batch Reactor), revealed a calcium phosphate core made of hydroxyapatite [Ca5(PO4)3(OH)]. This precipitation phenomenon is induced by local pH and supersaturation gradients issued of biological reactions inside granules. The study of the biomineralization phenomenon has been extended into anaerobic granules coming from UASB reactors at different cheese wastewater treatment plants. A physico-chemical model has been described in a form of matrix with AQUASIM® software, and coupled with a thermodynamic database (PHREEQC®), in an attempt to hypothesize the mechanisms that influence the biomineralization phenomena. It has been proposed the formation of an amorphous precursor (ACP) prior hydroxyapatite precipitation in the core of granules, suggesting the thermodynamic constant (pKsp|20ºC=28.07±0.58) and kinetic constants at different operating conditions. It has been also estimated the contribution of the biomineralization to the overall phosphorus removal process (up to 46% at the operating conditions tested), thanks to the development and study of a GSBR (Granular Sludge Batch Reactor) in labscale, for more than 900 days. The fate of the biomineralization process in granules, regarding the contribution to their stabilization and physical properties, has been also dealt in this thesis. The reactor stability and performances have been assessed by alternating anoxic/aerobic and anaerobic/aerobic cycles, in sights of a future industrial application. The induction of precipitation by local variation of pH and supersaturation issued of biological reactions has been here introduced, although it will need further investigation