REWAT Project

Project summary (RO: Descrierea proiectului)

Water quality degradation continues despite the technological advance and the increased awareness.

The goal of REWAT is to develop innovative integrated modelling and control tools for the investigation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in-river pollutants transport, capable to assist the evaluation of sustainable solutions to reduce the WWTPs environmental impact (EI).

REWAT aims at novel contributions including

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to predict the WWTP operation parameters along with key process and EI indicators; to be used for
  2. the design of model-based flexible control strategies (approaching multiple control loops) to allow forecasting optimum WWT strategies in the context of WW dynamics and environmental factors, while lowering the EI and operation costs; and
  3. approaching the relation of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) removal to the control strategies; for the
  4. understanding of their behaviour in urban WWTPs; and in the receiving river using
  5. a new module ADModel-Med for the transport and transformation of NSAID featuring a detailed representation of in-river phenomena to empower good prediction efficiency and the understanding of NSAID behaviour in relation to controlling factors.

Further, sustainable solutions for lowering the WWTPs EI and WQ improvement will be proposed. We aim at the co-design and co-creation of solutions together with the Cluj-Napoca WWTP to ensure REWAT success and increased impact of results.

Degradarea calitatii apei continuă în ciuda creșterii progresului tehnologic si a gradului de conștientizare.

Scopul REWAT este de a dezvolta instrumente inovatoare integrate de modelare si control pentru stațiile de epurare a apelor uzate (SEAU) si a transportului poluanților în râuri, capabile să asiste la evaluarea soluțiilor durabile de reducere a impactului ambiental al SEAU.

REWAT urmărește contribuții noi, inclusiv:

  1. modele bazate pe inteligența artificială (IA) pentru parametrii SEAU împreună cu indicatorii cheie de proces si impact ambiental; utilizabile pentru
  2. crearea de strategii de control flexibil bazate pe modele (cu bucle de control multiple) pentru identificarea operării optime în contextul dinamicii afluentului si al factorilor de mediu, reducând în același timp impactul si costurile de operare; si
  3. abordarea relatiei dintre epurarea antiinflamatoarelor nesteroidiene (AINS) si strategiile de control; pentru
  4. înselegerea comportamentului AINS în SEAU; si în râu utilizând
  5. un nou modul ADModel-Med pentru transportul si transformarea AINS care prezintă detaliat fenomenele din râu pentru o bună eficienta a predictiei si înselegerea comportamentului AINS în raport cu factorii care îl influentează.

Vor fi propuse solutii durabile pentru scaderea impactului SEAU si imbunatatirea calitatii apei. REWAT tinteste co-proiectarea si co-crearea lor impreuna cu SEAU Cluj-Napoca pentru a asigura succesul si impactul sporit al rezultatelor.

Project team

Monitoring locations & methods

Monitoring Network Map

Geographical distribution of the monitoring points along the Someșul Mic river basin (Lavita et al., 2025).

Laboratory Analysis

Generic on-site automated sampling illustration.

On-site Sampling

Computational methods generic illustration.

Project results: scientific publications

  1. Chiciudean, T.M., Cebotaru, N., Mihaly, N.B., Brehar, M.A., Timis, E.C., 2026. Soft sensor development for Cluj-Napoca wastewater treatment plant utilizing artificial neural network modelling. International Conference Students for Students XXIInd Edition, Cluj-Napoca, 22-25 April 2026, https://osccluj.ro/international-conference-students-for-students/ PDF

    WWTP soft sensor

  2. Lavita, G.E.A., Prodan, A.I., Veres Danciut, T., Taran, B., Chiciudean, T.M., Cocis-Vagner, C., Burca, S., Cauacean, R., Mihaly, N.B., Timis, E.C., 2026. The estimation of hydrodynamic parameters for a reach of Some?ul Mic River. International Conference Students for Students XXIInd Edition, Cluj-Napoca, 22-25 April 2026, https://osccluj.ro/international-conference-students-for-students/ PDF

    Somesul Mic illustration

  3. Taran, B., Lavita, G.E.A., Veres Danciut, T., Prodan, A.I., Taran, B., Chiciudean, T.M., Burca, S., Cauacean, R., Mihaly, N.B., Timis, E.C., 2026. The investigation of water quality in the urban area of Cluj-Napoca during autumn and winter. International Conference Students for Students XXIInd Edition, Cluj-Napoca, 22-25 April 2026, https://osccluj.ro/international-conference-students-for-students/ PDF

    Somesul Mic water quality monitoring

  4. Mihaly, N.B., Timis, E.C., Cebotaru, N., Brehar, M.A., Cristea, V.M., 2026. Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation Optimization Towards Energy Efficiency and Reduced Effluent Loading Based on Optimized Data-Driven Models, Cleaner Engineering and Technology. PDF

    Data Driven Modelling Achievements

  5. Chiciudean, T.M., Mihaly, N.B., Cebotaru, N., Brehar, M.A., Cauacean, R., Timis, E.C., 2025. Artificial neural network modelling for the prediction of WWTP effluent ortho-phosphates concentration. SICHEM 2025, 6-7 November, Bucharest, ISSN 2537-2254. PDF

    ANN prediction for phosphates

  6. Gal E., Brem B., Cauacean R., Brehar M.A., Veres-Danciut T., Prodan A.I., Burca S., Mihaly N.B., Timis E.C., 2025. Environmental Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Pollutants: A Case Study on Anti-Inflammatories in the Wastewater and the Somes River, Cluj-Napoca. Sibiu, Romania. PDF

    Pharmaceuticals Monitoring Workflow

  7. Lavita, G.E.A., Burca, S., Veres Danciut, T., Prodan, A.I., Cauacean, R., Chiciudean, T.M., Cocis Vagner, C., Mihaly, N.B., Gal, E., Timis, E.C., 2025. The intensive monitoring of water quality in Some?ul Mic River, Romania. Chi?inau, Moldova. PDF

    River Monitoring Workflow

  8. Mihaly, N.B., Brehar, Cristea V.M., Timis, E.C., 2025. Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation Optimization Towards Energy Efficiency and Reduced Effluent Loading Based on Optimized Data-Driven Models. SDEWES Dubrovnik, Croa?ia. PDF

    Goals and objectives of the study

  9. Moldovan, C.C., Cristea, V.M., Timis, E.C., 2025. Mathematical modelling of NSAIDs transport and degradation in a river reach. ICBESS 2025, Turkye. PDF

    NSAIDs Degradation Modelling

  10. Prodan, A.I., Timis, E.C., 2025a. The comparative performance of control strategies for the water flow rate in a river sector. ICSEI Laos. PDF

    Somesul Mic River Flow Rate Model

  11. Prodan, A.I., Timis, E.C., Cristea, V.M., 2025b. The automatic control of flow rate in a river reach for water quality protection. Students for Students, Cluj-Napoca. PDF

    River Flow Control in a reach of Somesul Mic River

  12. Veres-Danciut, T., Cristea, V.M., Miclaus, A.L., Timis, E.C., 2025. Assessment of WWTP performance for changes in influent flow rate and pollutants concentration. SICHEM 2025, Bucharest. PDF

Project results & impact: events

  • Work visit at the Cluj-Napoca WWTP, including project staff and students, 21st January 2025
  • Research stage, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (Finland), 27-31 January 2025
  • Work visit at the Cluj-Napoca WWTP, including project staff and students, 15th September 2025
  • Research stage at the Department of Chemical Engineering: Dr. Eng. Zina Sabrina Duma (Finland), 20 Oct - 5 Dec 2025
  • Work visit at the Cluj-Napoca WWTP with Dr. Eng. Zina Sabrina Duma, 28th October 2025
  • Course and workshop on fault identification by Dr. Eng. Zina Sabrina Duma, 16 & 26 Nov 2025

...

Project results & impact: other

Phase 1 / Etapa 1: 2025

  • Rez.1.1 Somesul Mic River and Cluj-Napoca WWTP water quality measurements / Masuratori colectate din Raul Somesul Mic si de la Statia de Epurare a Apelor Uzate (SEAU) PDF
  • Rez.1.2 Report on the modelling results for the WWTP and the Somesul Mic River / Raport asupra rezultatelor modelarii pentru SEAU si Raul Somesul Mic in etapa 1 PDF
  • Rez.1.3 Students involved in water quality research defended their graduation papers / Studenti implicati in cercetare pe tema calitatii apelor care au sustinut lucrari de finalizare a studiilor
    • Amalia Ioana PRODAN, BSc Thesis, Modelare matematica numerica aplicata pentru procese de transport de impuls si masa în rauri, July 2025
    • Catalin Cristian MOLDOVAN, MSc Thesis, Mathematical modelling of pollutant transport in the Murray Burn River (Scotland) using numerical and analytical solutionsJuly 2025
  • Rez.1.4 Project events (study visits, research stages, workshops, etc.) / Evenimente in cadrul proiectului (incluzand vizite de studiu, stagii de cercetare, workshop-uri, etc.)
  • Rez.1.5 Paper sent to WoS journal / Articole trimise la jurnal WoS: Manuscript CLET-D-25-01729, Cleaner Engineering and Technology. Submitted Dec 2025. Major revision recommended.
  • Rez.1.6 Participation at conferences / Participare la conferinte
    • The International Conference on Science, Engineering and Innovation 2025, 27-28 November 2025, Vientiane,Laos
    • The Ecologycal and Environmental Chemistry (Chimia ecologica si a mediului), XXIII Ed., 25 November 2025,Chi?inau, Moldova
    • International Conference on Business, Economics, and Social Sciences (ICBESS 2025), 17-19 November 2025, Corum, Turkiye
    • Symposium of Chemical Engineering and Materials, SICHEM 2025, 6-7 November, Bucharest, Romania
    • 31st International Conference on Chemistry, 23-25 October, 2025, Sibiu, Romania
    • The 20th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), 5 - 10 October 2025, Dubrovnik, Croatia
    • International Conference Students for Students XXIst Edition, 9-13 April 2025, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  • Rez.1.7 Online posts and publications: UBB TechTransfer Newsletter, Nr. 12, 2024. PDF

Phase 2 / Etapa 2: 2026 - under implementation

  • Rez.2.1 Raport asupra completarii bazei de date cu masuratori
  • Rez.2.2 Raport modele pentru SEAU si strategii de control
  • Rez.2.3 Concluziile studiului privind indepartarea medicamentelor antiinflamatoare nesteroidiene din apele uzate
  • Rez.2.4 Raport ADModel aplicat pentru Raul Somesul Mic
  • Rez.2.5 Simulari model integrat pentru SEAU si Raul Somesul Mic
  • Rez.2.6 Propuneri de solutii sustenabile pentru studiul de caz si intelegerea avansata a acestuia
  • Rez.2.7 Cel putin 2 studenti implicati in cercetare pe tema calitatii apelor sustin lucrari de finalizare a studiilor
  • Rez.2.8 O vizita de studiu impreuna cu studentii a fost realizata
  • Rez.2.9 Workshop pe tema calitatii apelor organizat in cadrul proiectului
  • Rez.2.10 Articole WOS trimise pentru review: cel putin 2
  • Rez.2.11 Participare la cel putin 2 conferinte
  • Rez.2.12 Postari online si alte publicatii pentru diseminarea proiectului si a rezultatelor sale