PREDICTING THE SOUND POWER AND IMPACT OF A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

Several process units at a wastewater treatment plant can produce a significant level of sound and thus induce sound nuisance for nearby residents. This paper reports the development of empirical models for the sound power of relevant process units. Besides the methodology, the paper describes in detail the derivation and validation of the empirical model for the splashing water of screw pumps. Also the use of all the derived empirical models to determine the sound impact of a WWTP at close distance is illustrated with a case study. These models allowed to make a prediction of the sound impact using both simple and advanced acoustical calculation principles.