Digital twins for optimisation and control of drinking/process water production

Water scarcity is a critical problem encountered throughout the world, and most specifically in Belgium and Flanders. Water utilities are confronted with the need for better water sources management, as droughts and decline in available groundwater caused by climate change and overpopulation increase water stress in the region.

For the optimal operation of water production, digital twins or the real-time use of predictive models would represent a powerful tool to monitor process trains and improve efficiency. Models for several unit processes are available, such as reverse osmosis, membrane distillation and bioreactors. However, they are still missing for many other processes as well as an integrated environment that can describe entire treatment trains.