Abstract
The European Union Green Deal aims at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and introducing clean energy production. But to achieve energy efficiency, the opportunity cost of different energies must be assessed. In this article, two different energy self-sufficient systems for wastewater treatment are compared. On the one hand, high-rate algal ponds system (HRAP) is considered; on the other hand, a conventional activated sludge system (AS) which uses photovoltaic power (PV) is studied. The paper offers a viability analysis of both systems based on the capacity to satisfy their energetic consumption. This viability analysis, along with the opportunity cost study, will be used in the article to compare these two projects devoted to the treatment of wastewater. In order to assess viability, the probability of not achieving the energy consumption threshold at least one day is studied. The results point that the AS+PV system self-sufficiency is achieved with much lesser land requirements than the HRAP system (for the former, less than 6500 m2, for the latter 40,000 m2). However, the important AS capital cost makes still the HRAP system more economic, although storage provides a great advantage for using the AS+PV in locations where a lot of irradiance is available.
Highlights
Published: 4 April 2021In the last decade, international institutions have taken on a strong commitment to achieve a climate neutral economy with the Horizon 2030 [1]
The intra-annual variability of the high rate algal ponds system (HRAP) system productivity, along with that of the meteorological variables (PAR and temperature) affecting this productivity are shown in Energies 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW
The present study concludes that the energy consumption is much smaller for HRAPs than for activated sludge process (AS) systems, where photovoltaic facility (PV) power is needed to supplement energy
Summary
International institutions have taken on a strong commitment to achieve a climate neutral economy with the Horizon 2030 [1] For this commitment, the European Union (EU) passed the EU Green Deal in 2019 aiming at promoting the clean energy production [2,3]. The oxidation and digestion of carbonaceous biological matter using aerobic micro-organisms in wastewater remove the non-active microbes from the system and provide an effective reduction of pollutant parameters [7,8]. This system has been installed for various municipalities and industries [9]. Microalgae are promising alternative renewable sustainable energy sources as they produce large amounts of biomass which can be used for production of “third-generation
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