IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v236y2019icp253-261.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A novel index of total oxygen demand for the comprehensive evaluation of energy consumption for urban wastewater treatment

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Li
  • Dzakpasu, Mawuli
  • Yang, Baichuan
  • Zhang, Wushou
  • Yang, Yahong
  • Wang, Xiaochang C.

Abstract

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the majority of energy inputs is consumed by aeration systems to support both the biochemical oxidation of organics and transformation of ammonia-nitrogen into nitrate-nitrogen. Consequently, WWTPs energy efficiency evaluation only based on metrics derived from the organic constituents such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) or biological oxygen demand (BOD) may not reflect the true energy consumption of WWTPs with variable influent quality. Therefore, to overcome this limitation, total oxygen demand (TOD) is introduced in this article, and a novel index EO, namely the energy consumption for the removal of a unit mass of TOD is proposed for evaluating the energy efficiency in WWTPs. Furthermore, by considering the stoichiometric relations of oxygen consumption for the oxidation of both organics and ammonia-nitrogen, methods for calculating the EO are proposed. Using the novel EO index and the available annual operation data of 2022 WWTPs, the current status of energy consumption for wastewater treatment in China were analyzed. The findings show an average EO decrease from 5.2 kWh/kg to 1.2 kWh/kg as the WWTP loading rates increase from 20% to 100%. Also, EO decreased from 4.1 kWh/kg to 1.5 kWh/kg as the average TOD removal increased from 60% to over 90%. Moreover, EO decreased from 2.9 kWh/kg to 1.0 kWh/kg as the WWTP scale increased from less than 10,000 m3/d to over 5,00,000 m3/d. Thus, the energy efficiency of WWTPs increases with increasing loading rates, TOD removal, and scale. Also, the wastewater treatment technology applied influences the EO significantly, especially for small- and medium-size WWTPs with capacities less than 50,000 m3/d which account for circa 76% of all WWTPs in China. The WWTPs applying sequential batch tractors (SBR) tended to show lower average EO (<1.7 kWh/kg) than those applying anaerobic/oxic (A/O), anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) and oxidation ditch (DO) (1.9 kWh/kg ≤ EO ≤ 2.0 kWh/kg). Thus, as an index of the energy consumption per unit mass of TOD removed, EO reflects the essence of wastewater treatment for pollutants removal in contrast to other existing energy indices based on the volume of treated wastewater. Moreover, due to the large variability of the WWTPs influent qualities, the TOD contributed by ammonia-nitrogen varied widely between 12.2% and 80.7% of the total TOD. Therefore, EO calculation based on TOD but not merely the organic component (COD or BOD) provides a more comprehensive index for evaluating and optimizing the energy efficiency of WWTPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Li & Dzakpasu, Mawuli & Yang, Baichuan & Zhang, Wushou & Yang, Yahong & Wang, Xiaochang C., 2019. "A novel index of total oxygen demand for the comprehensive evaluation of energy consumption for urban wastewater treatment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 253-261.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:236:y:2019:i:c:p:253-261
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.101
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918318166
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.101?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. Wang, Hongtao & Yang, Yi & Keller, Arturo A. & Li, Xiang & Feng, Shijin & Dong, Ya-nan & Li, Fengting, 2016. "Comparative analysis of energy intensity and carbon emissions in wastewater treatment in USA, Germany, China and South Africa," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 873-881.
    2. 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.
    3. Shen, Yanwen & Linville, Jessica L. & Urgun-Demirtas, Meltem & Mintz, Marianne M. & Snyder, Seth W., 2015. "An overview of biogas production and utilization at full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States: Challenges and opportunities towards energy-neutral WWTPs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 346-362.
    4. Longo, Stefano & d’Antoni, Benedetto Mirko & Bongards, Michael & Chaparro, Antonio & Cronrath, Andreas & Fatone, Francesco & Lema, Juan M. & Mauricio-Iglesias, Miguel & Soares, Ana & Hospido, Almudena, 2016. "Monitoring and diagnosis of energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants. A state of the art and proposals for improvement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1251-1268.
    5. Plappally, A.K. & Lienhard V, J.H., 2012. "Energy requirements for water production, treatment, end use, reclamation, and disposal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4818-4848.
    6. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar, 2015. "Energy and water autarky of wastewater treatment and power generation systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 52-68.
    7. 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. Xianying Li & Feng Xu & Nan Xiang & Yating Wang & Yingkui Zhang, 2019. "Dynamic Optimized Cleaner Production Strategies to Improve Water Environment and Economic Development in Leather Industrial Parks: A Case Study in Xinji, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Liu, Runxi & Huang, Runyao & Shen, Ziheng & Wang, Hongtao & Xu, Jin, 2021. "Optimizing the recovery pathway of a net-zero energy wastewater treatment model by balancing energy recovery and eco-efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    3. Sangyeol Jo & Rahul Kadam & Heewon Jang & Dongyun Seo & Jungyu Park, 2024. "Recent Advances in Wastewater Electrocoagulation Technologies: Beyond Chemical Coagulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-26, November.
    4. Zhu, Wenjing & Duan, Cuncun & Chen, Bin, 2024. "Energy efficiency assessment of wastewater treatment plants in China based on multiregional input–output analysis and data envelopment analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 356(C).
    5. 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.
    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. 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).
    8. Joana Cassidy & Tatiana Silva & Nuno Semião & Pedro Ramalho & Ana Rita Santos & João Faria Feliciano & Catarina Silva & Maria João Rosa, 2023. "Integrating Reliability and Energy Efficiency Assessments for Pinpointing Actionable Strategies for Enhanced Performance of Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-13, August.

    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. 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.
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Longo, S. & Mauricio-Iglesias, M. & Soares, A. & Campo, P. & Fatone, F. & Eusebi, A.L. & Akkersdijk, E. & Stefani, L. & Hospido, A., 2019. "ENERWATER – A standard method for assessing and improving the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 897-910.
    6. 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.
    7. Adam Masłoń & Joanna Czarnota & Paulina Szczyrba & Aleksandra Szaja & Joanna Szulżyk-Cieplak & Grzegorz Łagód, 2024. "Assessment of Energy Self-Sufficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants—A Case Study from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-19, March.
    8. 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.
    9. Kirchem, Dana & Lynch, Muireann Á. & Bertsch, Valentin & Casey, Eoin, 2020. "Modelling demand response with process models and energy systems models: Potential applications for wastewater treatment within the energy-water nexus," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    10. Bey, M. & Hamidat, A. & Nacer, T., 2021. "Eco-energetic feasibility study of using grid-connected photovoltaic system in wastewater treatment plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    11. 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).
    12. Smith, Kate & Liu, Shuming & Liu, Ying & Guo, Shengjie, 2018. "Can China reduce energy for water? A review of energy for urban water supply and wastewater treatment and suggestions for change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 41-58.
    13. Kirchem, Dana & Lynch, Muireann Á & Casey, Eoin & Bertsch, Valentin, 2019. "Demand response within the energy-for-water-nexus: A review," Papers WP637, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    14. 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.
    15. 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).
    16. 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.
    17. Nikolaos Tsalas & Spyridon K. Golfinopoulos & Stylianos Samios & Georgios Katsouras & Konstantinos Peroulis, 2024. "Optimization of Energy Consumption in a Wastewater Treatment Plant: An Overview," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-43, June.
    18. Rosa M. Llácer-Iglesias & P. Amparo López-Jiménez & Modesto Pérez-Sánchez, 2021. "Energy Self-Sufficiency Aiming for Sustainable Wastewater Systems: Are All Options Being Explored?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    19. 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).
    20. Yin, Changkai & Shen, Yanwen & Zhu, Nanwen & Huang, Qiujie & Lou, Ziyang & Yuan, Haiping, 2018. "Anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge with incineration bottom ash: Enhanced methane production and CO2 sequestration," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 503-511.

    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:236:y:2019:i:c:p:253-261. 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.