Model predictive control of dissolved oxygen concentration based on a self-organizing RBF neural network

The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in activated sludge wastewater treatment processes (WWTPs) is difficult to control because of the complex nonlinear behavior involved. In this paper, a self-organizing radial basis function (RBF) neural network model predictive control (SORBF-MPC) method is proposed for controlling the DO concentration in a WWTP. The proposed SORBF can vary its structure dynamically to maintain prediction accuracy. The hidden nodes in the RBF neural network can be added or removed on-line based on node activity and mutual information (MI) to achieve the appropriate network complexity and the necessary dynamism. Moreover, the convergence of the SORBF is analyzed in both the dynamic process phase and the phase following the modification of the structure. Finally, the SORBF-MPC is applied to the Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1) WWTP to maintain the DO concentration. The results show that SORBF-MPC effectively provides process control. The performance comparison also indicates that the proposed model's predictive control strategy yields the most accurate for DO concentration, better effluent qualities, and lower average aeration energy (AE) consumption.