Optimal flow distribution over multiple parallel pellet reactors: a model-based approach.

A drinking water treatment plant has a typical configuration of parallel lanes to provide safe drinking water 24 h a day. A new approach for optimising the production of drinking water treatment plants is proposed. This approach is applied to the softening process step and shows promising results in terms of cost reduction by optimising the water distribution over several parallel reactors. The proposed scheme relies on optimal model-based control of a single softening reactor and the use of a bypass.