Before discussing the digitalization of industrial treatment plants and their compliance with Industry 4.0 infrastructure, let's talk about automation in treatment plants...
Before discussing the digitalization of industrial treatment plants and their compliance with Industry 4.0 infrastructure, it is necessary to talk about automation in treatment plants. It is beneficial to emphasize why it is important and how it can be implemented. Wastewater treatment plants are systems that are not easy to control in terms of both process and equipment quality and quantity, depending on the variability of the water to be treated. For automation to work, all components must operate in harmony like an orchestra. A malfunctioning or non-working component can produce results that reduce the efficiency of the plant, similar to how a bad orchestra produces poor music, and may even introduce certain risks. Therefore, automation in treatment plants is one of the biggest factors in increasing efficiency. Leaving all flows and controls of treatment plants to manual observation and interaction, which is heavily reliant on human input, often brings along human errors or oversights. Implementing automation applications is important both in terms of today's technological requirements and to prevent human errors. Automation applications ensure system safety by preventing equipment from malfunctioning while also protecting the equipment. Historical data monitoring can be performed, and information about status changes, errors, and malfunctions can be instantly transmitted to a desired remote center.
At this stage, we must mention SCADA. SCADA stands for "Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition." Rather than a direct translation, an explanation is more appropriate; we can refer to it as "Remote Control and Monitoring System" or method. In short, SCADA systems are the control of facilities or units spread over a wide area from a single center via a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. This method, used from power plants to industrial production facilities, fundamentally consists of software and hardware. It is also used for the control of domestic and industrial treatment plants. When planning automation, it is important to plan preventive maintenance processes well. At this stage, data and fault information can be automatically sent via email.
The ability to instantly share as a cellular message significantly contributes to the smooth operation of the system.**Reflections of Industry 4.0 on Treatment Plants**In today's discussions about digitalization in industry and the Industry 4.0 revolution, the digitalization of treatment plants and the "IOTP" (Internet of Treatment Plants) has also entered our agenda. Water and wastewater treatment systems are indispensable parts of industrial production. Industries that consume a lot of water or produce wastewater during production are required by environmental regulations to treat their wastewater and discharge it in accordance with receiving environment standards. In fact, for a sustainable future today, recovery has started to be widely implemented to protect dwindling water resources and to avoid being negatively affected by increasing water costs. In today's world, where production is beginning to become automated and even unmanned with Industry 4.0, the infrastructure of treatment systems, which are part of production, must be compatible with Industry 4.0. In areas such as centralized communication, sensor fusion, and artificial intelligence, environmental engineers, industrial software engineers, IT specialists, and computer engineers will work with a multidisciplinary approach to ensure that the technologies needed by industries in the future meet environmental regulations through appropriate treatment techniques.Today, planned treatment plants must be suitable for the Industry 4.0 infrastructure to meet the needs of smart factories. The fourth industrial revolution, referred to as Industry 4.0, has been on the agenda since 2011, initially in Germany and later in all developed countries. Due to the increasing labor costs in developed countries, as well as the pressures of quality, occupational health and safety, and environmental regulations, there have been increases that complicate competition in the total cost of production and often make it impossible. In response, industrialized countries, especially Germany, have sought to increase production quality and speed while reducing costs.They have planned moves to lower costs and turn competition in their favor. As a result, the fourth industrial revolution has begun in this way. Production around the world is now becoming digitalized in an irreversible manner, becoming automated and even "unmanned." It is vital to anticipate the technological, economic, and social consequences of the revolution that will occur with Industry 4.0 and to quickly implement some plans. Just as inputs, outputs, and production instruments will change in production processes, some professions will disappear while new ones will emerge, and it is predicted that they will reach a level that will affect our lives in the near future. It is ironic that environmental factors, one of the triggers for the emergence of Industry 4.0, are kept away from the processes of water and wastewater treatment. An important reason for the shift of production from developed countries to less developed ones is the local response, laws, and practices regarding environmental pollution. If we make this observation correctly, it will be clearly seen that the infrastructure of treatment facilities must be built in accordance with Industry 4.0 within the ongoing industrial transformation.**Components of Digital Transformation**It is necessary to define the main components well. Industrial software, programmable logic control units, process equipment, sensors, online measurement and analysis units, and software and hardware that will ensure the integration of IT and automation will constitute the main components. Companies serving the sector need to be equipped in these areas and ensure integration. The technical equipment, software, and data flow that today's industrial facilities will need to achieve zero downtime / zero error can only be provided by treatment facilities that are prepared according to these standards and have infrastructure suitable for Industry 4.0 requirements.This digital transformation supports the development of quality and high-performance equipment, as well as suitable software and sensor technologies. Additionally, in the upcoming period...It will be inevitable for online measurement devices to be used more widely with the developing technology and decreasing costs.
