IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v282y2021ipas0306261920315427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrated plant-wide modelling for evaluation of the energy balance and greenhouse gas footprint in large wastewater treatment plants

Author

Listed:
  • Zaborowska, Ewa
  • Czerwionka, Krzysztof
  • Mąkinia, Jacek

Abstract

Modern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should maintain a balance between three combined sustainability criteria, including effluent quality, energy performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All of these criteria were considered in the integrated plant-wide model developed in this study. The proposed model incorporates new features, including: (i) the addition of associated facilities to the overall energy balance and GHG footprint and (ii) the implementation and validation of detailed sub-models of heat and power supply and demand. The aim of the study was to investigate the implications of these new extensions on the energy balance and sustainability assessment of the entire facility. The integrated model was evaluated against full-scale data from a large WWTP performing biological nutrient removal in an activated sludge bioreactor and anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Upon applying the investigated operational strategies, the potential decreases in the GHG footprint and effluent total nitrogen concentration were estimated to be 20% and 30%, respectively, in comparison with the current conditions. However, only a slight potential for improving the overall energy balance was found. In contrast, with technological upgrades, energy neutrality and the highest reduction in the GHG footprint (by over 30%) were achieved, but the effluent quality remained unchanged in comparison with the current conditions. It was shown that the heat demand of associated facilities could not be neglected in the overall heat balance and GHG footprint. The detailed models of energy demand and supply improved the assessment of energy performance in the full-scale WWTP.

Suggested Citation

  • Zaborowska, Ewa & Czerwionka, Krzysztof & Mąkinia, Jacek, 2021. "Integrated plant-wide modelling for evaluation of the energy balance and greenhouse gas footprint in large wastewater treatment plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:282:y:2021:i:pa:s0306261920315427
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116126
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920315427
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116126?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gu, Yifan & Li, Yue & Li, Xuyao & Luo, Pengzhou & Wang, Hongtao & Robinson, Zoe P. & Wang, Xin & Wu, Jiang & Li, Fengting, 2017. "The feasibility and challenges of energy self-sufficient wastewater treatment plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 1463-1475.
    2. Lee, Mengshan & Keller, Arturo A. & Chiang, Pen-Chi & Den, Walter & Wang, Hongtao & Hou, Chia-Hung & Wu, Jiang & Wang, Xin & Yan, Jinyue, 2017. "Water-energy nexus for urban water systems: A comparative review on energy intensity and environmental impacts in relation to global water risks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 589-601.
    3. Macintosh, C. & Astals, S. & Sembera, C. & Ertl, A. & Drewes, J.E. & Jensen, P.D. & Koch, K., 2019. "Successful strategies for increasing energy self-sufficiency at Grüneck wastewater treatment plant in Germany by food waste co-digestion and improved aeration," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 797-808.
    4. Panepinto, Deborah & Fiore, Silvia & Zappone, Mariantonia & Genon, Giuseppe & Meucci, Lorenza, 2016. "Evaluation of the energy efficiency of a large wastewater treatment plant in Italy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 404-411.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paulina Szulc & Jędrzej Kasprzak & Zbysław Dymaczewski & Przemysław Kurczewski, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Processes Regarding Energy Production from the Sludge Line," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-29, January.
    2. Maktabifard, Mojtaba & Al-Hazmi, Hussein E. & Szulc, Paulina & Mousavizadegan, Mohammad & Xu, Xianbao & Zaborowska, Ewa & Li, Xiang & Mąkinia, Jacek, 2023. "Net-zero carbon condition in wastewater treatment plants: A systematic review of mitigation strategies and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    3. Liu, Lingchi & Zhang, Xiaohong & Lyu, Yanfeng, 2022. "Performance comparison of sewage treatment plants before and after their upgradation using emergy evaluation combined with economic analysis: A case from Southwest China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 472(C).
    4. Moazeni, Faegheh & Khazaei, Javad, 2021. "Co-optimization of wastewater treatment plants interconnected with smart grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    5. Beata Karolinczak & Wojciech Dąbrowski & Radosław Żyłka, 2021. "Evaluation of Dairy Wastewater Treatment Systems Using Carbon Footprint Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-10, August.
    6. Golzar, Farzin & Silveira, Semida, 2021. "Impact of wastewater heat recovery in buildings on the performance of centralized energy recovery – A case study of Stockholm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Radini, Serena & Marinelli, Enrico & Akyol, Çağrı & Eusebi, Anna Laura & Vasilaki, Vasileia & Mancini, Adriano & Frontoni, Emanuele & Bischetti, Gian Battista & Gandolfi, Claudio & Katsou, Evina & Fat, 2021. "Urban water-energy-food-climate nexus in integrated wastewater and reuse systems: Cyber-physical framework and innovations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    2. Velasquez-Orta, Sharon B. & Heidrich, Oliver & Black, Ken & Graham, David, 2018. "Retrofitting options for wastewater networks to achieve climate change reduction targets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 430-441.
    3. Strazzabosco, A. & Kenway, S.J. & Conrad, S.A. & Lant, P.A., 2021. "Renewable electricity generation in the Australian water industry: Lessons learned and challenges for the future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Moazeni, Faegheh & Khazaei, Javad, 2021. "Co-optimization of wastewater treatment plants interconnected with smart grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    5. Micari, M. & Cipollina, A. & Tamburini, A. & Moser, M. & Bertsch, V. & Micale, G., 2019. "Combined membrane and thermal desalination processes for the treatment of ion exchange resins spent brine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    6. Huang, Runyao & Shen, Ziheng & Wang, Hongtao & Xu, Jin & Ai, Zisheng & Zheng, Hongyuan & Liu, Runxi, 2021. "Evaluating the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants in the Yangtze River Delta: Perspectives on regional discrepancies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    7. Odabaş Baş, Gözde & Aydınalp Köksal, Merih, 2022. "Environmental and techno-economic analysis of the integration of biogas and solar power systems into urban wastewater treatment plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 579-597.
    8. Ali, Syed Muhammad Hassan & Lenzen, Manfred & Sack, Fabian & Yousefzadeh, Moslem, 2020. "Electricity generation and demand flexibility in wastewater treatment plants: Benefits for 100% renewable electricity grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    9. Ahmadi, Ehsan & Yousefzadeh, Samira & Mokammel, Adel & Miri, Mohammad & Ansari, Mohsen & Arfaeinia, Hossein & Badi, Mojtaba Yegane & Ghaffari, Hamid Reza & Rezaei, Soheila & Mahvi, Amir Hossein, 2020. "Kinetic study and performance evaluation of an integrated two-phase fixed-film baffled bioreactor for bioenergy recovery from wastewater and bio-wasted sludge," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    10. Yan, Peng & Shi, Hong-Xin & Chen, You-Peng & Gao, Xu & Fang, Fang & Guo, Jin-Song, 2020. "Optimization of recovery and utilization pathway of chemical energy from wastewater pollutants by a net-zero energy wastewater treatment model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Mehdi Sharif Shourjeh & Przemysław Kowal & Jakub Drewnowski & Bartosz Szeląg & Aleksandra Szaja & Grzegorz Łagód, 2020. "Mutual Interaction between Temperature and DO Set Point on AOB and NOB Activity during Shortcut Nitrification in a Sequencing Batch Reactor in Terms of Energy Consumption Optimization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Macintosh, C. & Astals, S. & Sembera, C. & Ertl, A. & Drewes, J.E. & Jensen, P.D. & Koch, K., 2019. "Successful strategies for increasing energy self-sufficiency at Grüneck wastewater treatment plant in Germany by food waste co-digestion and improved aeration," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 797-808.
    13. Xu, Jiuping & Zhao, Chuandang & Wang, Fengjuan & Yang, Guocan, 2022. "Industrial decarbonisation oriented distributed renewable generation towards wastewater treatment sector: Case from the Yangtze River Delta region in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    14. Guven, Huseyin & Ersahin, Mustafa Evren & Dereli, Recep Kaan & Ozgun, Hale & Isik, Isa & Ozturk, Izzet, 2019. "Energy recovery potential of anaerobic digestion of excess sludge from high-rate activated sludge systems co-treating municipal wastewater and food waste," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1027-1036.
    15. Michela Gallo & Desara Malluta & Adriana Del Borghi & Erica Gagliano, 2024. "A Critical Review on Methodologies for the Energy Benchmarking of Wastewater Treatment Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, February.
    16. Molinos-Senante, Maria & Maziotis, Alexandros, 2022. "Evaluation of energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants: The influence of the technology and aging factors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    17. Chew, Alvin Wei Ze & Law, Adrian Wing-Keung, 2018. "DRFM hybrid model to optimize energy performance of pre-treatment depth filters in desalination facilities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 576-597.
    18. Eleni P. Tsiakiri & Aikaterini Mpougali & Ioannis Lemonidis & Christos A. Tzenos & Sotirios D. Kalamaras & Thomas A. Kotsopoulos & Petros Samaras, 2021. "Estimation of Energy Recovery Potential from Primary Residues of Four Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-14, June.
    19. Aleksandra Szaja & Agnieszka Montusiewicz & Magdalena Lebiocka, 2021. "The Energetic Aspect of Organic Wastes Addition on Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Digestion: A Laboratory Investigation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-12, September.
    20. Vojtěch Zejda & Vítězslav Máša & Šárka Václavková & Pavel Skryja, 2020. "A Novel Check-List Strategy to Evaluate the Potential of Operational Improvements in Wastewater Treatment Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:282:y:2021:i:pa:s0306261920315427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.