In-line chemical analysis of wastewater: present and future trends

In-line chemical analysis is one of the research areas to which more attention is being paid, owing to the potential advantages over other types of analysis. This is especially remarkable in monitoring water- and wastewater-quality parameters, currently a subject of growing concern throughout the world. We present an overview of the most important and recent approaches in this field, along with future trends. Finally, as an example of one of the most recent lines of research, we also describe the implementation of a distributed system for the control of a chemical analysis system for wastewater. It is presented in “chemical” terms as well as from the computer point of view (e.g., architecture of the nodes that form the distributed system, communication system by GSM/GPRS, and control strategies). All the information obtained is processed, integrated and stored in a control center. These data can be retrieved at any time through the Internet so as to know the real-time system status and its evolution.