Waste Liquid Collection System

Please provide all relevant data here if you want our help i.e. what is the liquid waste you're producing, what is its expected temperature and volumetric flow rate, what sort of contaminants expected to be present, your required storage or retention time, and what you intend to do with the waste liquid: reprocess it for reclamation, simply hold it until it can be collected and disposed by a licensed waste collector, or it is wastewater, discharged into the sewer. Please answer all these questions and I'll help you to design it if I can. Without all these relevant information no one can help you with this.

Im really sorry for seeking for help without any details. the truth is I'm mostly clueless on technical matters regarding control systems. I know the theories and solving problems mathematically but actually designing a system is another planet for me. It's frustrating how we are expected to produce a project study without further knowledge. Im just trying to come up with a proposal and im looking at waste liquid collection system or insect control system. I guess this isn't the proper forum for me, as I see it skilled engineers and those who really know what they are doing are more appropriate here. Thanks for responding and sorry for wasting your time, I'll just figure something out. Hopefully down the road I'll be as knowledgable as all of you here. God bless.

I'm so sorry, but you have misunderstood me completely. We are all willing to help you out here, and I genuinely meant what I said when I said that I'll help you to design the system provided you could provide the relevant information. I have actually designed wastewater treatment systems for other posters here before, and I'll only be too happy to help you in this in any way I can.

So this is a student project is it? Okay, in that case, if your assignment does not provide you with any relevant details, then I suggest that you begin by drawing up a scenario of a hypothetical plant doing whatever it is that would require you to deal with the waste liquid produced that you are enquiring about. Also, you got your design procedure on backward: control is always the last stage of the process. You begin with the problem. From here, you design a process to deal with the problem; this is the reason why I asked you to post your design parameters here. Once the process is established, you go to the mechanical side of the problem, selecting suitable equipment to carry out the process. Then, you go on to the electrical side of the problem, determining the total power consumption that your process requires. From here, you review to see if the process can be optimized to reduce cost and energy consumption. Finally, once your process design is finalized, you go to the control stage to determine what sort of sensors and control mechanism you would need.

I strongly suggest that you post your hypothetical scenario here so that all of us here can walk you through the design process. No, we will not help you to do your homework; certainly I won't. However, we will guide and advice you on how to go on about with your design and what relevant details to look out for. One more thing: don't be upset by my questions: any environmental engineer worth his salt will ask you the exact same questions because these are the parameters he will require to design such a system. Instead, use my questions to help you draft your hypothetical scenario, then come up with your theoretical solution including your calculations. Once you've done that, post your working here, and from here, I'll check your process design and help walk you through it step by step until it's completed.

One final thing: there's no need for you to apologize for asking for help. You are not the first student to seek help for problems with his/her assignment here, and you will not be the last. Anyone who is sincere about wanting to learn is always welcome here as long as they are willing to work for their answer instead of expecting us to solve it for them wholesale, and I for one will all be too happy to take on a new padawan to mentor, especially a fellow environmental engineer.

I just got embarassed. ANd thanks for the support. I get everything your saying. Anyway, I've decided to propose an automated insect control system. I'm thinking it would be composed of a distributing system, pump, tank and a controlling system where the user could program a schedule on when the spraying will start and stop and how long it would spray. I need some ideas about the controlling system, should I use PLC? the cheaper the better. Im also thinking about integrating a level sensor so when the pump is empty the pump will not be energized. My ideas are a mess so help please.

You can use a simple timer relay for this purpose: it's much cheaper. Basically, all you need is for the timer to activate the pump to spray your insecticide at predetermined times. Since the volume of your room is fixed, just a simple spray and distribution mechanism (e.g. a mist spray and fan) is required.

The volumetric flow rate of both your pump and fan can also be predetermined because all you need to do is to achieve the required dosing concentration. For example, if the volume of your room is 1,000m³ (1,000,000 liters) and you need a concentration of 0.5ppm, you will need half a liter of concentrated insecticide, so if your insecticide is a 50% solution (500 grams of insecticide dissolved in 1 liter of water) then you will need 1 liter of solution to effectively disinfect the room.

Finally, a simple magnetic level sensor that will cut off power to the pump when your insecticide falls below the minimum safe level for your pump to run is sufficient. You can also use a conductivity level sensor for this purpose if your insecticide is a conductor of electricity (e.g. water-based).

I hope this is enough for you to work on. If not, don't hesitate to ask for clarification. Good luck on your science project.

Im also thinking about incorporating a remote control, so when a user want to change the schedule of the spraying the user would just switch on/off the timer and he could commence/terminate the spraying through the remote so he wouldn't need to reprogram the timer. Is this possible?

my pofessor also asked me to make the nozzle movable and the insecticides to be applied for pests in crops. Would it be alright if I use PLC for the nozzle to spray a portion of the crops and then move to the next? Will cylinder work? And do you have any more ideas to make this project more innovative? Thank you for the support.

For remote control, you will need a transmitter and a receiver for the control mechanism. Actuators and stepper motors will be required if you intend to mount your spray nozzle in a turret so that it can rotate and the elevation of the nozzle raised and lowered. If this is your layout, then you'll definitely need a PLC. You will also need sensors to determine your different positions and angles. Finally, you may need a mobile chassis if this is going to be used in a field.

What is a mobile chassis? If my project will be located in the field there could be a problem regarding the power supply. What can I do about it?

A mobile chassis is a frame with a transmission and power plant, like the chassis of a car. As for power plants, either use a bank of batteries or even an internal combustion engine driving a generator. You could also use solar panels, but they're costly and inefficient. Similarly, you could also use wind turbines since your device will be used outdoors, but they're unreliable since they depend upon the wind. It goes without saying that whatever your power plant is, it must be enough to power your entire system with some extra added in just in case it's required.