Page 236 - Wastewater Solids Incineration Systems

198 Wastewater Solids Incineration Systems

1.0 MODERN SYSTEMS PROVIDE
INTEGRATED FUNCTIONALITY

Modern instrument and control and supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) systems are more properly considered management support systems, or
decision support systems. They provide for the integrated needs of many levels or
functional categories of users, from the operator, manager, and accountant, to the
agency director. These systems bring together various functions within the plant,
helping to ensure that their use is supported as necessary capital expenditures.
Like their wet stream process counterparts, operators of wastewater treatment
plant bioenergy processes must ensure effective and economical operations while
complying with all permit requirements. Agencies implementing a biosolids environ-
mental management system increasingly are aware of planning, quality control, and
quality assurance (i.e., critical control points) needs for all aspects of plant and
process operations—especially related to bioenergy processes.
The good news about instrument and control systems is that the distinctions are
becoming blurred between computer, smart components, controllers, and other com-
ponents. It is no longer necessary to begin with the design of system hardware, but
rather by outlining the functionalities desired. For any need, there are now multiple
means of meeting it, and accomplished system integrators can design the hardware
and software to meet requirements.

2.0 DESIGNING INSTRUMENT AND
CONTROL SYSTEMS
This chapter will introduce important concepts and serve as a guideline in the concep-
tual design or review several systems: instrument and control, data acquisition, SCADA,
plant control systems, and plant monitoring systems for bioenergy processes.
In this chapter, emphasis is placed on combining fundamental operational infor-
mation with an intelligent knowledge sharing and management decision support
system. It should seem obvious that the best systems are those that most fully inte-
grate and demonstrate these concepts. Even so, all systems are intended to accom-
plish basic functions.
In the traditional view, computers excel in repetitive tasks; operators and techni-
cians, on the other hand, excel at those tasks that require insight, discrimination,
analysis, and experience. The relatively new field of adaptive process control is
bridging the gap that separates these two views.