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Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants

Received: 20 October 2017    Accepted: 14 November 2017    Published: 26 December 2017
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Abstract

Wastewater treatment is a process of intensive use of resources, mainly energy, which accounts for 15 to 40% of the operating costs in conventional wastewater treatment systems. With the expected demographic increase and the restrictive trend in quality standards for effluent discharge, the energy consumption tends to increase further if there are no changes in the processes. The literature gathers the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment systems, in an attempt to map the processes and to help the decision making in the search for better alternatives. One of these alternatives is the recovery of energy from the sewer. The conventional treatment system requires between 0.3 and 0.6 kWh/m3, while the energy contained in the wastewater may be up to 10 times of the one required for the treatment. The simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation, called the hybrid treatment system, is a worldwide trend. In Brazil, recent studies have shown, through energy balances, the energy viability of anaerobic-aerobic systems, with the production of algae. This work presents a comparative review of the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment plants, aiming at a better understanding and management of the processes. The results showed that there are few Brazilian data published, indicating that the country still demands more studies on the subject to improve its processes. In the treatment of wastewater, most studies point to the aerobic process as the largest consumer of energy, and efforts are focused on the optimization of the conventional system, but still without great achievements. Environmental goals and water supply strategies are poorly integrated with the energy handling, leading to an inefficient use, and with economic and environmental consequences.

Published in International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11
Page(s) 79-86
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wastewater Treatment Station, Energy Consumption, Bioenergy

References
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  • APA Style

    Renan Barroso Soares, Marina Santos Memelli, Regiane Pereira Roque, Ricardo Franci Gonçalves. (2017). Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications, 3(6), 79-86. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11

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    ACS Style

    Renan Barroso Soares; Marina Santos Memelli; Regiane Pereira Roque; Ricardo Franci Gonçalves. Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants. Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 2017, 3(6), 79-86. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11

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    AMA Style

    Renan Barroso Soares, Marina Santos Memelli, Regiane Pereira Roque, Ricardo Franci Gonçalves. Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants. Int J Archit Arts Appl. 2017;3(6):79-86. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11,
      author = {Renan Barroso Soares and Marina Santos Memelli and Regiane Pereira Roque and Ricardo Franci Gonçalves},
      title = {Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants},
      journal = {International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {79-86},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaaa.20170306.11},
      abstract = {Wastewater treatment is a process of intensive use of resources, mainly energy, which accounts for 15 to 40% of the operating costs in conventional wastewater treatment systems. With the expected demographic increase and the restrictive trend in quality standards for effluent discharge, the energy consumption tends to increase further if there are no changes in the processes. The literature gathers the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment systems, in an attempt to map the processes and to help the decision making in the search for better alternatives. One of these alternatives is the recovery of energy from the sewer. The conventional treatment system requires between 0.3 and 0.6 kWh/m3, while the energy contained in the wastewater may be up to 10 times of the one required for the treatment. The simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation, called the hybrid treatment system, is a worldwide trend. In Brazil, recent studies have shown, through energy balances, the energy viability of anaerobic-aerobic systems, with the production of algae. This work presents a comparative review of the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment plants, aiming at a better understanding and management of the processes. The results showed that there are few Brazilian data published, indicating that the country still demands more studies on the subject to improve its processes. In the treatment of wastewater, most studies point to the aerobic process as the largest consumer of energy, and efforts are focused on the optimization of the conventional system, but still without great achievements. Environmental goals and water supply strategies are poorly integrated with the energy handling, leading to an inefficient use, and with economic and environmental consequences.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Comparative Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Different Wastewater Treatment Plants
    AU  - Renan Barroso Soares
    AU  - Marina Santos Memelli
    AU  - Regiane Pereira Roque
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    Y1  - 2017/12/26
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11
    T2  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-1131
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20170306.11
    AB  - Wastewater treatment is a process of intensive use of resources, mainly energy, which accounts for 15 to 40% of the operating costs in conventional wastewater treatment systems. With the expected demographic increase and the restrictive trend in quality standards for effluent discharge, the energy consumption tends to increase further if there are no changes in the processes. The literature gathers the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment systems, in an attempt to map the processes and to help the decision making in the search for better alternatives. One of these alternatives is the recovery of energy from the sewer. The conventional treatment system requires between 0.3 and 0.6 kWh/m3, while the energy contained in the wastewater may be up to 10 times of the one required for the treatment. The simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation, called the hybrid treatment system, is a worldwide trend. In Brazil, recent studies have shown, through energy balances, the energy viability of anaerobic-aerobic systems, with the production of algae. This work presents a comparative review of the energy consumption of different wastewater treatment plants, aiming at a better understanding and management of the processes. The results showed that there are few Brazilian data published, indicating that the country still demands more studies on the subject to improve its processes. In the treatment of wastewater, most studies point to the aerobic process as the largest consumer of energy, and efforts are focused on the optimization of the conventional system, but still without great achievements. Environmental goals and water supply strategies are poorly integrated with the energy handling, leading to an inefficient use, and with economic and environmental consequences.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes), Vitória, Brazil

  • Centro Tecnológico, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes), Vitória, Brazil

  • Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes), Vitória, Brazil

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