פרוייקטים

Anchor 1

monitored climate simulator

Integrated Control, SCADA & Electrical System for a Semi-Commercial Aquaculture Research Facility-

Building the automation infrastructure for large-scale marine RAS and denitrification research

Client:

National Center for Mariculture (Malchi), Eilat

Application:

Marine aquaculture and wastewater treatment research

System:

Rolia fish-growing facility + denitrification treatment plant

Research supported by:

Israel's Ministry of Agriculture

Status:

Ongoing research and system development

Project Summary

CrystalVision designed and implemented the complete electrical, control and SCADA infrastructure for an integrated aquaculture research facility at the National Center for Mariculture in Eilat. The system connects the Rolia marine fish-growing facility with a semi-commercial denitrification treatment plant, combining instrumentation, PLC control, process automation, industrial communication and Crystal OPC into a single operating platform.

The automation was built to support complex process sequences, continuous monitoring and data collection, while allowing researchers to adjust operating parameters as the research develops.

From Research Concept

To Semi-Commercial Scale

The research at Malchi investigates how wastewater treatment technologies developed through laboratory and pilot-scale research, can be evaluated at a much larger and more realistic scale.

At the center of the project is Rolia, a hybrid recirculating aquaculture system used for marine fish research.

Rolia includes two fish-growing tanks of approximately 60 m3 each, an approximately 14 m3 up-flow solids filter and an aerobic MBBR biofilter. Wastewater is generated through filter backwashing, bottom-cleaning operations and overflow from the culture tanks. These streams are collected in a central sump and pumped into the treatment facility.

The wastewater-treatment system is significantly more complex than a single reactor.

It includes an activated-sludge denitrification process, an anoxic mixed tank, solids separation, flocculation capability and sand filtration. Sludge and filter-backwash streams are directed to a large settling pond, while another approximately 34 m3 aerobic tank is used to treat water returning from this part of the process. Water can also be circulated between the aerobic and anoxic stages, and an organic carbon source can be added when required for the denitrification process.

Working from the process definition developed by the Malchi research team, CrystalVision engineered the electrical, instrumentation and automation system required to operate it at semi-commercial scale.

The Engineering Challenge

Research facilities create a different automation challenge from conventional production plants.

In a production facility, the process is normally defined before the control system is commissioned. In research, the control system must operate reliably while allowing the researchers to change the way the process is operated.

The Rolia and denitrification project also includes many interacting systems: water movement between tanks, pumps operating through variable-frequency drives, biological treatment stages, solids separation, air systems, chemical dosing, UV treatment, analytical instrumentation, filter cleaning, sludge handling, alarms and data collection.

Some processes are continuous. Others operate according to water levels, flow, time schedules or analytical measurements. Several operations involve multi-step sequences in which one piece of equipment cannot operate until conditions elsewhere in the facility are satisfied.

The automation therefore had to do more than turn equipment on and off.

It had to translate the researchers' process description into a coordinated operational system while keeping the parameters that matter to the research accessible and adjustable.

Complete Electrical

& Control Design

CrystalVision was responsible for the complete electrical and control engineering of the system.

The work included the design and construction of the control panel, PLC architecture and remote I/O, power and control distribution for the automation equipment, field wiring, integration of sensors and actuators, pump and VFD control, communication with external equipment and the complete PLC and SCADA software.

The system incorporates a broad range of process instrumentation, including measurements of pH, ORP, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, flow, water level and temperature.

The control architecture also interfaces with pumps, mixers, blowers, motorized valves, dosing pumps and other process equipment. The original system specification included a central Allen-Bradley PLC together with distributed remote I/O and a large range of analog and digital instrumentation.

CrystalVision also integrated third-party systems into the same control environment. For example, communication with the Atlantium UV treatment system allows operating information and alarms to be exchanged with the process controller, while the organic-carbon dosing system is controlled as part of the process rather than as a separate standalone device.

Automating the Rolia Fish-Growing System

One part of the project is the automation of the Rolia system itself.

A good example of the required control complexity is the automatic backwash sequence of the solids filter.

A backwash is not simply a timed valve operation. Before the sequence can begin, the control system must evaluate conditions elsewhere in the facility, including the available capacity in the receiving system.

The sequence can then involve pumping down the collection sump, stopping seawater supply and UV treatment, isolating the filter, lowering its water level, operating air cleaning, draining the filter, washing the bottom section and subsequently refilling and returning the system to normal operation.

If the required conditions are not satisfied, the backwash can be postponed or skipped and an alarm generated.

This is representative of the wider project: operations that might appear simple from an operator's perspective require coordinated logic involving multiple measurements and pieces of equipment.

Automating the

Denitrification Process

The treatment side introduces a different set of control requirements.

Water arriving from Rolia must be transferred through the treatment process while maintaining the required flow and operating levels. Pumps are controlled according to tank levels and flow requirements, with operating limits and protection against low-water conditions.

Analytical measurements provide additional inputs to the process.

For example, the system uses ORP measurements as part of the operating strategy for the anoxic reactor. The control system can also manage aeration and organic-carbon dosing according to process conditions rather than relying only on fixed manual settings.

The treatment process also involves biomass circulation and sludge removal.

The control logic coordinates circulation through the solids separator, maintains operating pressure, controls discharge toward the sand filters and manages sludge removal according to configurable operating criteria.

A flocculant preparation and dosing system is also integrated into the automation, including dosing pumps, dilution, water-flow measurement and monitoring of the polymer supply.

These are separate physical processes, but for the operator they are managed through one control environment.

Instrumentation Is

Part of the Process

The project relies heavily on continuous process measurements.

CrystalVision integrated the instrumentation into the automation system rather than treating the sensors as independent monitoring devices.

Measurements from the anoxic stage include turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, ORP, temperature and level. These measurements can be used both for research data and as inputs to alarms, operating logic and process sequences.

Crystal OPC - One View

of the Complete Facility

Crystal OPC provides the main SCADA and HMI environment, bringing the Rolia system, treatment process, instrumentation and supporting equipment into one interface. Researchers and operators can view equipment status and measurements, adjust relevant operating parameters, review trends and alarms, generate reports and access historical process data.

For a research facility, the historical record is particularly valuable because the same infrastructure used to operate the process also documents how the facility was operating during an experiment.

Commissioning the

Complete Process

Commissioning included field I/O testing, sensor and calibration checks, communication testing, complete process runs, alarm simulation, verification of reports and trends, and operator training.

CrystalVision has continued supporting the system after commissioning, including troubleshooting, calibration assistance and adaptation of the control system as operating requirements change.

A Research Platform

Designed to Change

Experimental operation of the integrated facility began in 2024, with Rolia and the treatment facility operated together under real fish-growing conditions.

The project continues to evolve. The current stage includes changes to water transfer between Rolia and the reactor, additional pumping and instrumentation, and updated operating logic. The existing control architecture is being expanded alongside the physical process, allowing the research team to test new operating strategies without rebuilding the automation platform.

From the Research Team

“CrystalVision developed and implemented the complete control and automation system supporting the scale-up and operation of our land-based aquaculture research facility, integrating the Rolia fish-growing system and the denitrification reactor into a single research platform. Monitoring, control, and automation are central to the project, enabling us to operate and evaluate processes at an increasingly larger scale. As a research project, the system is inherently dynamic and continues to evolve as new knowledge is gained and new operational strategies are tested. The flexibility of the system and CrystalVision’s ability to adapt it to changing research requirements have been especially valuable.”

Uri Yogev - Researcher & Project Lead

The Result: One Integrated Research Facility

The project created a single automation environment for the Rolia and denitrification systems, bringing process control, analytical measurements, equipment operation, alarms and historical data together in one platform.

It demonstrates how electrical engineering, instrumentation, industrial communication, PLC control and SCADA can be integrated into one complete research system.