Imatran Vesi is the water utility of the city of Imatra, responsible for water procurement and distribution as well as wastewater treatment. The Meltola wastewater treatment plant of Imatran Vesi handles the wastewater from the areas of Imatra, Ruokolahti, Korvenkylä, Rauha-Tiuruniemi, and Rautjärvi Asemanseutu.
The collaboration between Insta and Imatran Vesi began in 2021 when the city of Imatra selected Insta to modernize the process automation and instrumentation of the treatment plant.
The Treatment Plant Was Renovated Completely Without Interruptions
The planning of the Meltola wastewater treatment plant renovation began in 2015. Most of the equipment in the treatment plant was original, and the technology was outdated. Construction started in 2021. Regional State Administrative Agency granted a new environmental permit in 2022, which imposed stricter environmental requirements on the operation of wastewater treatment plants. The goal of the renovation was to update the technology of the treatment plant, built in 1981, to meet the new environmental permit requirements. The renovation involved a complete overhaul of the treatment plant: the pretreatment building was refurbished, and new buildings were constructed, including a control room building, compressor and chemical building, and a wastewater post-treatment facility.
Insta's contribution included the delivery of the automation system and the complete renewal of instrumentation. The renovation was carried out in the operational facility without interruptions. The reliable operation of the facility had to be ensured during the project, which required Insta's knowledge of the treatment process and agility.
From Timer Switches to Data-Driven Management
– The initial situation was that the old facility was not particularly automated. The old control room had light panels, timer switches, and very little remote control, meaning devices were mainly controlled by local control centers. The control room was specifically a control room and not a place from which anything could be controlled, explains Kalle Kokko, operations engineer at Imatran Vesi.
With automation, the degree of automation of the treatment plant was increased and developed, and its usability was improved through remote management. The distributed control system enabled centralized and efficient control of the facility. Processes were integrated into a system capable of round-the-clock operation without staff presence. Control, monitoring, and remote operations were implemented using programmable logic controllers suitable for the application, associated data transfer connections, and a PC control room. Additionally, the facility's data collection and management were integrated into the Insta Wahti™ reporting system.
The goal of the automation system was to enhance process control and monitoring, minimize energy and chemical consumption, and provide comprehensive reporting on the facility's operations for authorities. The system collects precise data on flows and chemical dosages, improving process monitoring and decision-making.
– The environmental permit requires regular reporting to the ELY Centre. We closely monitor flow data and chemical quantities. The reporting program and Support software are pleasant to use. We can retrieve data from long periods ago and compare years with each other. Nowadays, as the city increasingly moves towards data-driven management, this is precisely what it is – we have measurement data on which we base our decisions, Kokko explains.
Additional Work Was Completed Almost Instantly
According to Kokko, there are still a few machines under local control at the treatment plant, but overall, the new automation system has significantly reduced fieldwork by enabling centralized control of the facility.
The collaboration with Insta has gone well, according to Kokko, and the commissioning phase, in particular, receives praise. Insta was actively involved in testing and problem-solving. An additional project was carried out to connect the biogas plant built at the Kurkisuo landfill to the treatment plant control room via a remote connection. As a result, the monitoring of the biogas plant can also be managed from the treatment plant control room, and all alarms and trends can be displayed on the control room screens. Reporting data is also stored in the Insta Wahti™ reporting system.
– We looked at Insta and saw that we needed an antenna, receiver, and VPN tunnel, and although it was quite a technical solution, it was ultimately successful almost instantly, Kokko describes.
– The communication with Insta has been very good overall – Insta has a humane way of doing this job. You can contact them with a low threshold, the designated contact person responds, and the contact does not get lost in the organization.
