Estimating the energy independence of a municipal wastewater treatment plant incorporating green energy resources

•We estimated green energy production in a municipal wastewater treatment plant.•Engineered approaches in mining multiple green energy resources were presented.•The estimated green energy production accounted for 6.5% of energy independence in the plant.•We presented practical information regarding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy conversion and management 2013-11, Vol.75, p.664-672
Main Authors: Chae, Kyu-Jung, Kang, Jihoon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Clean energy
Climate change
Devices using thermal energy
Economics
Energy
Energy consumption
Energy independence
Energy of waters: ocean thermal energy, wave and tidal energy, etc
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments, installations and applications
Estimating
Exact sciences and technology
Green energy
Heat pump
Heat pumps
Heat recovery
Hydroelectric power plants
Hydropower
Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy
Natural energy
Photovoltaic conversion
Photovoltaics
Solar energy
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plant
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Summary:•We estimated green energy production in a municipal wastewater treatment plant.•Engineered approaches in mining multiple green energy resources were presented.•The estimated green energy production accounted for 6.5% of energy independence in the plant.•We presented practical information regarding green energy projects in water infrastructures. Increasing energy prices and concerns about global climate change highlight the need to improve energy independence in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This paper presents methodologies for estimating the energy independence of a municipal WWTP with a design capacity of 30,000m3/d incorporating various green energy resources into the existing facilities, including different types of 100kW photovoltaics, 10kW small hydropower, and an effluent heat recovery system with a 25 refrigeration ton heat pump. It also provides guidance for the selection of appropriate renewable technologies or their combinations for specific WWTP applications to reach energy self-sufficiency goals. The results showed that annual energy production equal to 107tons of oil equivalent could be expected when the proposed green energy resources are implemented in the WWTP. The energy independence, which was defined as the percent ratio of green energy production to energy consumption, was estimated to be a maximum of 6.5% and to vary with on-site energy consumption in the WWTP. Implementing green energy resources tailored to specific site conditions is necessary to improve the energy independence in WWTPs. Most of the applied technologies were economically viable primarily because of the financial support under the mandatory renewable portfolio standard in Korea.
ISSN:0196-8904
1879-2227
DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2013.08.028