Flow Rate Targeting for Concentration- and Property-Based Total Water Network with Multiple Partitioning Interception Units

Multiple partitioning interception units, such as flotation, flocculation settling, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, etc. are placed in series in practical wastewater treatment plant for the purpose of regeneration reuse/recycle, and/or for waste treatment for final discharge. Currently, no pinch-based approach addresses the flow rate targeting problem for the water network with multiple partitioning interception units. In this paper, the generalized Improve Problem Table (IPT) is first presented to target the concentration- and property-based total water network with multiple partitioning interception units. The procedure for the generalized IPT approach is illustrated in detail by solving a revised literature example. The generalized IPT includes the deduced flow rate and mass balance equations for the water network with multiple partitioning interception units, and they are utilized to check the feasibility of the results. The Excel Goal Seek feature is applied to determine the optimal solutions, and they are validated via automated targeting model (Ng et al. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 7647). The limiting composite curve and water supply line can be plotted on the basis of the data and the optimal solutions to show the net water demand and the optimal water supply of water network. Two revised literature examples are solved to show the feasibility of the proposed IPT in targeting the fixed flow rate or fix contaminant mass load water network problems. The applicability of the proposed IPT is illustrated by solving the property-based wastewater interception and recovery system of an industrial case study.