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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Cost modeling for sludge and waste management from wastewater treatment plants: an empirical approach for Spain

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Abstract Wastewater treatment involves the generation of large volumes of sludge and other waste. Managing this waste in an economical and environmentally acceptable way has become a matter of increasing importance over the last few years. While the technologies and processes to reduce sludge generation are being widely studied, research on the economic aspects is much more limited. This study applies a cost-modeling methodology that uses statistical information from a sample of Spanish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to generate a sewage sludge and waste management cost function with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the cost structure and predicting the cost savings that will result from reducing the generation of sludge. Likewise, considering two possible scenarios, potential savings related to sludge reduction in some European countries demonstrate the helpfulness of the cost function developed.