SK Inno Ulsan CLX, First Domestic Refinery to Introduce AI Wastewater Treatment System

Members of SK Energy Power Plant are inspecting the site of the Type 1 Comprehensive Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] SK Innovation announced on the 13th that it has significantly raised the level of wastewater management at its production sites to the highest standard in South Korea.

SK Innovation has established an 'Artificial Intelligence Wastewater Treatment System' capable of real-time analysis and prediction of wastewater generated at Ulsan Complex (hereinafter Ulsan CLX). It is the first domestic refining company to create a 'proactive wastewater treatment system' that can predict the characteristics of process wastewater in real time and treat it optimally.

Due to Ulsan CLX's status as the world's largest refining and petrochemical complex, it discharges and treats over 50,000 tons of industrial wastewater daily. Ulsan CLX owns two comprehensive wastewater treatment plants that purify all wastewater before discharge.

Until recently, the comprehensive wastewater treatment plants at Ulsan CLX relied on manual analysis conducted in laboratories to monitor wastewater and treatment status. Real-time monitoring was only possible for treatment results through the water quality pollutant concentration measurement and transmission system (TMS) installed at the final discharge point.

Besides this, employees managed the blocking of toxic wastewater and re-treatment of poorly characterized discharged water by manually analyzing samples they collected. Additionally, the condition of microorganisms in the biological treatment facilities (bioreactors) used to purify wastewater was entirely dependent on time-consuming manual analysis. This approach had the limitation of only allowing post-treatment based on manual analysis.

To innovate the labor-intensive working method, Ulsan CLX began a wastewater treatment system improvement project in 2019. As a result, real-time measurement equipment was installed, and after trial operations, the 'Artificial Intelligence Wastewater Treatment System' applying AI to wastewater monitoring was completed at the end of last year.

The AI wastewater treatment system can analyze both incoming wastewater and treated water discharged from the Ulsan CLX wastewater treatment plants in real time. The system is equipped with an AI system that predicts changes in incoming water quality and discharge water quality based on real-time analysis data.

This system proposes optimal wastewater treatment methods through simulations based on various process operation data. It is also undergoing machine learning to achieve judgment capabilities and accuracy beyond those of experienced operators.

Moreover, a real-time greenhouse gas monitoring system was installed to enable wastewater treatment optimized for greenhouse gas reduction. Previously, it was impossible to measure greenhouse gas emissions during wastewater treatment, but the new system allows prediction of greenhouse gas emissions generated during the wastewater treatment process. Ulsan CLX expects this to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those produced by 15 cars making round trips between Seoul and Busan daily.

An Ulsan CLX official stated, "The introduction of the new system has overcome the limitations of existing manual analysis, which only allowed discontinuous monitoring and post-verification," adding, "By shifting from reactive to proactive responses and from labor dependence to scientific analysis, it will be possible to manage water quality more perfectly and reduce greenhouse gases."

Ulsan CLX plans to secure more diverse wastewater treatment data during the scheduled regular maintenance starting in March and continue improving the system.

Jongseok Lee, Head of Power Plant at SK Energy, said, "The introduction of the AI system at the comprehensive wastewater treatment plant is a symbolic achievement of the smart plant continuously promoted by Ulsan CLX," and added, "Optimal wastewater treatment using AI demonstrates our commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)-focused management and will lay the foundation for Ulsan CLX's green transformation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.