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Modelling and optimal control of countercurrent ion exchange process

Thesis (MTech (Electrical Engineering))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2002 / The problem for wastewater treatment is very important these days because of population
increase and industry development. Ion exchange technology has proved its positive
qualities in domestic lives and industry, but the ion exchange process still needs deeper
understanding and improving. That is why a new pilot plant has been built in Chemical
Engineering Department at Peninsula Technikon.
In addition to the treatment of domestic effluents there are other processes which the ion
exchange is suited for, such as the recovery and the reuse of industrial effluents. The
proposed control system is developed in such a way that it does not have to depend on a
certain effluent.
The selection of the process and the development of techniques for its control fall into the
national needs of improving people's lives (e.g. giving them excess to clean water) and
quality of the environmental conditions (treatment of toxic waste substances).
There is a need for an application area for modeling and control methods developed in
the field of control engineering for the Department of Electrical Engineering; on the other
hand a need of control techniques for the development in the Department of Chemical
Engineering technological process. This multidisciplinary liaison between the two
Engineering departments promotes joint research activities and relevance between them.
It also equips the graduating engineer with the relevant experience into working in a team
of multidisciplinary engineering fields.Community and industrial relevance of the research study is that in addition to treatment
of domestic effluents, the ion exchange process is also particularly well suited for: the
desalination of hard waters, combined neutralization and desalination of alcohol
effluents, such as mine drainage, acid mineral tailings, paper bleach affluent. the
pretreatment of reverse osmosis feed for the removal of organic and colloidal particulate.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1098
Date January 2002
CreatorsDube, Nthuthuko Marcus
PublisherPeninsula Technikon
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/

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