Development of IoT-Based Real-Time Monitoring System and LFA to Improve the Efficiency and Performance of Wastewater Treatment Plant in Udayana University Hospital

Abstract

Indonesia is one of the countries infected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). At the end of March 2020, the provincial government of Bali appointed Udayana University Hospital to handle COVID-19 patients because the province has experienced an increase in the number of positive cases. In September 2020, COVID-19 cases in Bali increased by more than 100%, resulting in a higher volume and content of hazardous liquid waste. Furthermore, hazardous liquid waste is the residue of activities that contain substances that can pollute and damage the environment and health, necessitating more efforts in managing the processing of hazardous wastewater produced by the hospital. Based on the background above, this study developed and applied an Internet of Things (IoT) based monitoring system to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Udayana University Hospital. In principle, the IoT system can be used as a real-time monitoring tool and minimizes direct contact activities of officers’ WWTP sites. Moreover, the Liquid Film Aerator (LFA) was applied to improve the efficiency of WWTP. The developed IoT system successfully monitors pH, DO, and real-time temperature, and the monitoring results were presented in a web-based user interface. The result shows better power usage efficiency than conventional aeration. Furthermore, conventional aeration with a root blower requires 619.8 watts to produce 1 mg/L of DO, while LFA only requires 273.2 watts. The developed systems can be applied to other hospitals or similar wastewater plants that handle COVID-19 cases.