Eutrophication control in lakes and reservoirs using simultaneous dynamic optimization approaches

MARIA SOLEDAD DIAZ

Mar del Plata, Argentina

Workshop; Workshop de Process Systems Engineering, en Pan American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) Program from the Americas; 2008

Workshop de Process Systems Engineering, en Pan American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) Program from the Americas, NSF

The increasing download of nutrients into water bodies throughout the world due to agricultural and industrial activities has intensified eutrophication. Ecological water quality models provide a representation of physical, chemical and biological processes that affect the biomass of phytoplankton, zooplankton and nutrients, through a system of nonlinear partial differential algebraic equations resulting from mass balances for components. We discuss ecological water quality models within a simultaneous dynamic optimization framework. Main focus is global sensitivity analysis, and dynamic parameter estimation and formulation of an optimal control problem to determine restoration policies. Solutions provide optimal profiles for inflows derived to nearby artificial wetlands for remediation, as well as optimal concentrations of zooplankton associated to fish removal, to enhance top-down control of phytoplankton, as main in-lake restoration strategy.