Resource recovery from wastewater in Austria: wastewater treatment plants as regional energy cells

Abstract

Although the main function of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is to remove various constituents from wastewater it can also serve as a source of energy and other materials. The generated resources can be used either on-site at the WWTP or elsewhere at an adjacent infrastructure. In the course of a current national research project, the possibilities and potentials regarding the integration of WWTPs into local energy supply concepts are being investigated in Austria. Preliminary results show that in particular the amount of thermal energy available exceeds by far the on-site demands of WWTPs. Even on-site electrical energy demands could be selfaddressed under certain conditions. This paper describes the estimation of total energy consumption and generation and the related degree of energetic self-sufficiency at certain Austrian WWTPs.Preliminary results regarding the development of a tool for evaluating and optimising on-site and externally supplied use of energy are presented. Finally, the possibilities of energy supply for neighbouring spatial structures are discussed briefly and conclusions drawn about the potential to develop WWTPs as regional energy cells.

Mapping Thermal Energy Resource Potentials from Wastewater Treatment Plants

“…Concerning potential electricity supply, the spatial context is not so important: First, only a certain share of the WWTPs' electricity demand can be provided without co-generation of biogas from other sources at the WWTP. With biogas co-generation from other substrates it is possible to generate more electricity as the WWTPs self-demand [18,19], but the question is where these substrates might originate in the amount needed for a substantial energy supply. Such potentials are case-specific and cannot be included in such a country-wide analysis.…”

“…At the same time, the respective wastewater and sludge treatment processes can provide energy and other resources [17][18][19][20][21]. Therefore, in addition to their main function of ensuring public health and safety as well as environmental protection, WWTPs can be considered as essential energy and resource cells.…”

Potential application of renewable energy sources at urban wastewater treatment facilities in Palestine – three case studies

“…Efficient operation of a WWTP can be achieved through improving efficiency of the operating units, and utilization of the green energy [7]. Utilizing green energy resources tailored to specific site conditions is necessary to improve the energy independence in WWTPs [20], utilization of solar energy and other mechanical renewable energy sources are not governed by the sludge treatment process [22]. Furthermore, the International Energy Agency (IEA) underlined the importance of energy efficiency, cleaner use of fossil fuel, capture and storage of carbon, utilization of renewable energy [23].…”

Resource recovery from low strength wastewater in a bioelectrochemical desalination process

“…However, energy and water supply issues are intertwined and cannot be addressed in isolation . Integrated solutions that utilize waste sources for energy production, which in turn, power freshwater production are attractive options to address the current energy and water nexus issues . To achieve this goal, several biochemical, physico‐chemical, thermochemical, and bioelectrochemical systems have been examined .…”