6533b829fe1ef96bd128acd7
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Energy intensity modeling for wastewater treatment technologies.
Adina IftimiRamón Sala-garridoMaría Molinos-senantesubject
PollutantSecondary treatmentEnvironmental Engineering020209 energyEnvironmental engineering02 engineering and technology010501 environmental sciences01 natural sciencesPollutionActivated sludgeEnergy intensityBiofilter0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineeringEnvironmental ChemistryEnvironmental scienceSewage treatmentExtended aerationWaste Management and Disposal0105 earth and related environmental sciencesEfficient energy usedescription
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are energy intensive facilities; therefore increased pressure has been placed on managers and policy makers to reduce the facilities' energy use. Several studies were conducted to compare the energy intensity (EI) of WWTPs, which showed large dispersion in EI among the facilities. In the present study, the degree EI influenced WWTPs was tested using a set of technical variables by modeling the EI of a 305 WWTP sample grouped into five secondary treatment technologies. Results indicated the following two major findings: i) WWTPs using conventional activated sludge, extended aeration, trickling biofilters, and biodisks exhibited significant economies of scale in energy use; and ii) pollutant removal efficiency demonstrated low impacts on WWTP EI. The methodology and results of this study are of value to policy makers in planning new WWTPs and developing management plans to improve energy efficiency of wastewater treatment.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-07-01 | The Science of the total environment |