Spatial distribution of the theoretical potential of waste heat from sewage: A statistical approach

Abstract

This paper statistically validates a novel methodology that quantifies, qualifies and spatially allocates the waste heat potential of sewage systems on an urban district level, in all cases in which real data from the sewage system does not exist or is not publicly available. The methodology is based on open data and open source technology and can be adapted to various types of cities. The results, from the application of the methodology for an example city, show that the methodology robustly calculated the paths and waste water volumetric flow from waste water sources to the waste water treatment plant. The modelled system maps the sewage system accurately within areas that have a population density close to the average. Despite small inaccuracies in the overall mapping, the methodology is able to present a good estimation of spatially distributed waste heat from water flows of the sewage system in the example city.