How Digital Twins transform wastewater treatment with real-time optimization

Water treatment facilities face mounting challenges from stricter regulations, resource limitations
and workforce transitions. For municipalities and industries seeking more efficient operations,
digital twin technology provides a solution that optimizes performance in real time.

Digital twins are virtual representations of physical assets combined with real-time data. Unlike
traditional control systems, digital twins connect directly with a facility’s equipment while
incorporating external data sources such as weather forecasts and energy pricing. This
comprehensive approach enables facilities to move from static operational parameters to
dynamic optimization that responds to changing conditions.

Digital twins go beyond just simulation models. They create actionable insights by continuously
processing information from the physical world and applying artificial intelligence to determine
ideal operational set points.

By supplementing traditional programmable logic controller (PLC) systems with advanced
artificial intelligence (AI) systems, digital twins overcome the limitations of 1970s-era technology
and allow operators to create truly responsive treatment solutions.

Veolia’s Hubgrade digital solutions incorporate more than 170 years of wastewater treatment
expertise into predictive models that anticipate challenges before they occur and enable
concrete actions.

Supporting operator knowledge
Despite its sophisticated technology, digital twins enhance human expertise. They translate
complex algorithms into familiar operational parameters that operators can easily apply.

This approach becomes increasingly valuable as fewer new professionals enter the field. By
embedding institutional knowledge into operational systems, digital twins ensure continuity and
support workforce transitions while allowing operators to focus on system monitoring rather than
manual adjustment.

The technology addresses the entire water cycle, optimizing both sewer networks and treatment
plants as an integrated system. This holistic approach maximizes properly treated water volume
while minimizing bypasses and combined sewer overflows – issues facing numerous facilities in
North America and Europe.

For municipalities, digital twins ensure regulatory compliance by maintaining consistent
performance. For industrial clients concerned with expenses, the technology delivers
measurable cost savings. Organizations with sustainability commitments benefit from reduced
chemical consumption, energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Real-world results
The Køge-Egnens wastewater treatment plant in Denmark demonstrates the transformative
impact of digital twin technology. The facility faced two significant challenges: optimizing
nitrogen removal and increasing hydraulic capacity during rain events without costly physical
expansion.

After implementing Veolia’s Hubgrade Wastewater Plant Performance solution, the digital twin
system increased hydraulic capacity by 35-60% while simultaneously improving nitrogen
removal. The facility also reduced electricity consumption by 35% and decreased chemical
usage by 60%, delivering substantial operational savings while enhancing environmental
protection.

In the Netherlands, the Ede wastewater treatment plant faced an increased load that led to non-
compliance with EU effluent standards. With a projected 20% further increase in plant load over
five years, the utility needed to either extend the plant with a third process line or find another
optimization solution.

The facility implemented the Hubgrade Wastewater Plant Performance solution to avoid a costly
plant expansion. This holistic, data-driven system replaced the former PLC-based online control
with real-time optimization of process efficiency.

As a result, the plant achieved compliant effluent below EU quality standards, reduced
environmental impact by decreasing total nitrogen and phosphorus in effluent, minimized
operational expenses on energy and chemicals and saved more than €10 million in capital
expenditure by avoiding construction of a new line. The system increased hydraulic capacity by
40% and reduced total nitrogen in effluent by 35%, even as plant load increased by 38% over
10 years.

Optimizing for multiple goals
Digital twins excel at balancing competing priorities, helping operators navigate tradeoffs
between treatment quality, operational costs and environmental impact. The system
continuously evaluates conditions to determine optimal operations – a level of complexity
beyond human capacity, especially for busy operators managing multiple responsibilities.

Rather than simply maintaining status quo operations, digital twins identify opportunities where
adjustments can save resources without compromising performance. When conditions change,
such as incoming storm events, the system prepares hours in advance to maximize treatment
capacity.

The future of wastewater treatment
Digital twin technology provides a powerful tool for wastewater treatment facilities facing
regulatory, operational and environmental challenges. By creating virtual replicas linked to real-
time data, operators can optimize performance, reduce costs and improve compliance without
major capital investments.

Curious what a digital twin could do for you? Estimate your savings with our Hubgrade
calculator. Contact our specialists to learn how Veolia can help make your operations more
sustainable, efficient and resilient.