Energy pattern analysis of a wastewater treatment plant

Pratima Singh,Arun Kansal,Cynthia Carliell-Marquet

doi:10.1007/s13201-012-0040-7

Pratima Singh, Arun Kansal + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-012-0040-7

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Abstract

Various forms of energy are used during a wastewater treatment process like electrical, manual, fuel, chemical etc. Most of the earlier studies have focused only on electrical energy intensity of large-scale centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This paper presents a methodological framework for analysing manual, mechanical, chemical and electrical energy consumption in a small-scaled WWTP. The methodology has been demonstrated on a small-scale WWTP in an institutional area. Total energy intensity of the plant is 1.046 kWh/m3 of wastewater treated. Electrical energy is only about half of the total energy consumption. Manual energy also has a significant share, which means that the small-scale treatment plants offer significant employment opportunities in newly industrializing countries and replaces fossil fuel-based energy with renewable. There is a lack of sufficient data in the literature for comparison, and few studies have reported values that vary significantly due to the difference in scale, scope of the study and the choice of the treatment technologies. Replication of similar studies and generation of data in this area will offer directions for decision on choice of the scale of wastewater treatment process from the considerations of energy and climate change mitigation strategies.

Highlights

The growing scarcity of water has increased the dependency of urban water system on energy, both for conveyance and treatment
This paper presents a methodological framework for analysing manual, mechanical, chemical and electrical energy consumption in a small-scaled wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)
This paper presents an energy pattern analysis of a WWTP in an institutional area

Summary

Introduction

The growing scarcity of water has increased the dependency of urban water system on energy, both for conveyance and treatment. With growing climate concerns, energy saving, energy efficiency and energy substitution have become a common development principle all over the world (Friedrich et al 2008) In this light, urban sanitation is a sector that can have substantial energy burden and can become important for power demand estimations in the coming years. Bringing energy considerations in such decision making will offer dual advantage of energy substitution and climate change mitigation which are vital ingredients of an eco-city development program (Mahgoub et al 2010). This aspect has an amplified relevance in countries, which are energy deficient

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