New Method for Monitoring Water Pollution Detects Harmful Substances Without Additional Sampling by Experts.
According to Sputnik, scientists from the Volgograd State Technical University have announced a new invention that can reduce response time to wastewater discharge by up to 30% and cut laboratory research costs by as much as 20%. This initiative has been published in the journal Applied System Innovation.
This new method can simplify and accelerate water research processes. (Illustrative image: Sputnik).
Water Pollution is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time. Daily, tons of wastewater containing various harmful substances are released into water bodies.
According to data from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia, Rosstat, the levels of chloride and phenol in wastewater are on the rise. This highlights the urgent need for continuous monitoring and the development of new methods to control water quality.
From this awareness, scientists at the Volgograd State Technical University have developed a new method that can simplify and expedite the water research process. Their proposed method detects the presence of harmful substances based on smart analysis of data obtained with the help of special sensor chips. This method does not require continuous additional sampling or further laboratory analysis.
“For infrequent laboratory tests of wastewater, it is crucial to identify changes in water composition through indirect indicators. Our software product allows for the identification of untreated wastewater discharges without the need for additional measurements and tests in the laboratory,” said Professor Alla Kravets from Volgograd State Technical University.
To control the wastewater discharge process, indicators such as flow rate and maximum allowed concentration of pollutants need to be used. The method, based on artificial intelligence technology, will facilitate the determination of whether the actual indicators exceed the maximum allowed concentrations in the wastewater from industrial enterprises.
According to the authors, this method could be utilized in “smart systems” for monitoring water quality. Experts point out that swift and timely responses to changes in water composition will minimize potential harm to the ecological environment.
The majority of work in the field of water quality assessment relies on algorithmically labeled data and encounters several challenges during analysis, such as layer imbalance, noise, and lack of valuable indicators. A notable distinction in the innovative results from the scientists at Volgograd State Technical University is the use of actual data regarding the exceedance of maximum allowed pollutant concentrations, obtained from laboratory analysis results.
