Remote monitoring of installations for water filtration using MT-151
The reliability and potential of the MT-151 telemetry module allow for developing the monitoring and control solutions using various architectures and communication protocols.
Our partner from South America, the Proyex company (Chile), developed a solution combining Ethernet communication (network infrastructure based on the classic cable and WiFi radio) with the industrial MODBUS protocol and GPRS/3G communication to send information to its own computing cloud. He provided the system users with the presentation of process data while maintaining the possibility of remote modification of work parameters.
The increase in the importance of awareness of environment protection, the rational use of natural resources and the sustainable production of goods and services is observed in the world. IIoT technologies are the basic tools for better use of natural resources, greater efficiency of production processes and, first of all, early detection of emergency situations.
Having solid and reliable technologies is crucial for developing the success of each company’s sustainability projects. Sensors, control devices, data transmission systems, information storage, visualization systems, and analytical applications must be robust and reliable enough to ensure the success of any project.
Biofiltro, the client of our Partner, is a Chilean company that offers wastewater filtration services using 100% natural physical and biological methods. The filtration system developed by Biofiltro has been implemented using methods that allow the cultivation of biomass rich in bacteria and earthworms responsible for the biological filtration of water.
Thanks to the extensive structure of the control panels and sensors, Biofiltro remotely monitors of system performance and water quality parameters 24 hours a day. The system also allows adjusting its load in order to ensure optimal performance.
Biofiltro inoculates a specific mixture of earthworms and bacteria in order to achieve maximum efficiency in the reduction of such parameters as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids content (TSS): fats and oils and nitrogen, total dissolved solids (TSD) content: ammonia and phosphorus. Earthworms form air ducts, digesting solid suspensions. They can
reach a density of up to 12,000 earthworms per square meter.
A reliable and robust monitoring and control system was required to inject the right amount of water into the biomass and to predict whether water conditions would not be harmful to earthworms and bacteria responsible for filtering. The priority was to detect and effectively correct critical situations by adjusting the operating parameters of the entire system. For this purpose, Proyex has developed a water quality monitoring system, irrigation automation, water level control and support for impulse water pumps based on InVentia MT-151 telemetry modules. One of the most important points of this process is the protection of biomass, consisting mainly of earthworms by:
- A permanent monitoring of the parameters and wastewater availability, which are to be used for the filtration process
- Monitoring of pH, biomass conductivity and ORP water coefficient before the filtration process
- Dosing the right quantity of water into the system and providing adequate rest time by the biomass
- Maintaining constant and reliable communication between the monitoring point of the water parameters to be filtered and the water pumping point
- Transferring information to the computing cloud in order to provide the client with remote access to the process from any device with Internet access
- Alerting about critical situations, such as power outages, low water levels, problems with the activity of pumps or indication of the pH level outside the normal range.
Proyex, taking into account previous experience gained in previous monitoring and control projects via WiFi using MT-151 equipment, decided to implement a solution based on the connection of these modules with each other via a WiFi network. WiFi was only used to ensure MODBUS communication between the pumping station (MT-151 Master) and the control center (MT-151 Slave), which are located at a distance of about 50 meters. The devices located in the pumping station (master) obtained water parameters in the form of pH, conductivity, ORP and water level read locally by the MT-151 Slave unit. The internal control algorithm of the telemetry module provided control over the irrigation time, pump sequencing and rest time required by the biomass to maintain the highest efficiency. In addition, if the pH reads are not within the normal ranges, the watering process stops and the facility staff receives appropriate alarm notifications.
In addition, the central station in the form of the MT-151 module (Master), using the built-in GPRS/3G modem, sends minute by minute information about the system status to the Proyex Cloud www.cloudiot.cl. In this way, both Biofiltro and its customers can continuously from anywhere with access to the Internet, monitor the condition of the filter system, current levels and the amount of filtrated water, and effectively identify and respond to anomalies, such as pump failures, power supply cuts or incorrect indication of water coefficients.
Hernán Canales N., Proyex, Chile