Energy demands of wastewater treatment are recognized as a significant cost for industry and municipalities. In the industrial sector, most businesses focus on their main production process and wastewater treatment is an afterthought. In the municipal sector there is perhaps more emphasis on wastewater treatment, with full-time operators, city engineers, and staff, but the many options for wastewater treatment are complex and sites are usually locked in to their existing infrastructure and processes; change is difficult to justify. There is a strong need in both sectors for a systematic approach to assessing energy costs due to wastewater treatment and making recommendations for process changes. Where changes are suggested there also need to be robust methods of calculating the payback period for capital cost recovery. The US Department of Energy, under its Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) program, has recently focused on assisting small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and municipalities in identifying energy-saving opportunities at wastewater treatment plants. The Clemson University IAC has embarked on this endeavor in collaboration with Renewable Water (ReWa), the municipal body that manages wastewater recovery facilities (WWRF) for Greenville, SC, and the surrounding area. We have developed a protocol for assessing wastewater treatment costs and potential energy savings. This includes both a logistical side (timing of meetings, number of people attending assessment trips, etc.) that follows the typical IAC industry assessment framework, and a technical side with techniques for evaluating equipment and processes such as aeration equipment, pump infrastructure, and anaerobic methane production. The assessment process gives stakeholders a third-party view of their process, which is a catalyst for change that can reduce energy costs.

Energy assessment at industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants

2019 Fall National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.