IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v196y2022icp579-597.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental and techno-economic analysis of the integration of biogas and solar power systems into urban wastewater treatment plants

Author

Listed:
  • Odabaş Baş, Gözde
  • Aydınalp Köksal, Merih

Abstract

This study analyses the environmental and economic benefits of integrating renewable energy sources (RES), biogas and solar energy into urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The energy intensity (kWh/m3) of the selected 456 WWTPs in Turkey was evaluated according to type and treatment process. The energy intensity of primary WWTPs (0.066–0.335 kWh/m3) is lower than that of secondary (0.075–1.361 kWh/m3) and advanced WWTPs (0.147–0.988 kWh/m3). RES integration is investigated using energy system optimization software for a sample of 25 WWTPs. Six scenarios were developed based on different CO2 emission penalties (0 and 16 USD/ton) and prices for selling electricity to the grid (0.000, 0.050, and 0.133 USD/kWh) to demonstrate the impact of market-based instruments. RES integration is cost-effective for secondary and advanced WWTPs with a flow capacity above 1 million m3/y. Market-based instruments are found to significantly influence the decision to integrate, generate and use renewable electricity at WWTPs. The RES integration can meet up to 88% of the annual energy demand of the WWTPs at an electricity selling price of 0.133 USD/kWh. When no market-based instruments are implemented, RES generation can reach up to 23% of the WWTPs' annual energy demand while reducing CO2 emissions by 15%.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:196:y:2022:i:c:p:579-597
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.06.155
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148122009909
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2022.06.155?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. Celik, Ali Naci, 2006. "Present status of photovoltaic energy in Turkey and life cycle techno-economic analysis of a grid-connected photovoltaic-house," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 370-387, August.
    2. Chen, Pi-Cheng & Alvarado, Valeria & Hsu, Shu-Chien, 2018. "Water energy nexus in city and hinterlands: Multi-regional physical input-output analysis for Hong Kong and South China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 986-997.
    3. Reddy, K.S. & Aravindhan, S. & Mallick, Tapas K., 2016. "Investigation of performance and emission characteristics of a biogas fuelled electric generator integrated with solar concentrated photovoltaic system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 233-243.
    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. Adam Masłoń & Joanna Czarnota & Aleksandra Szaja & Joanna Szulżyk-Cieplak & Grzegorz Łagód, 2020. "The Enhancement of Energy Efficiency in a Wastewater Treatment Plant through Sustainable Biogas Use: Case Study from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. 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.
    7. Lee, Mengshan & Keller, Arturo A. & Chiang, Pen-Chi & Den, Walter & Wang, Hongtao & Hou, Chia-Hung & Wu, Jiang & Wang, Xin & Yan, Jinyue, 2017. "Water-energy nexus for urban water systems: A comparative review on energy intensity and environmental impacts in relation to global water risks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 589-601.
    8. 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.
    9. Cao, Yucheng & Pawłowski, Artur, 2012. "Sewage sludge-to-energy approaches based on anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis: Brief overview and energy efficiency assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 1657-1665.
    10. Andrey Kiselev & Elena Magaril & Romen Magaril & Deborah Panepinto & Marco Ravina & Maria Chiara Zanetti, 2019. "Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Sewage Sludge Biogas Solutions," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, May.
    11. 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.
    12. Wakeel, Muhammad & Chen, Bin & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Ahmad, Bashir, 2016. "Energy consumption for water use cycles in different countries: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 868-885.
    13. 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).
    14. Manzoor Qadir & Pay Drechsel & Blanca Jiménez Cisneros & Younggy Kim & Amit Pramanik & Praem Mehta & Oluwabusola Olaniyan, 2020. "Global and regional potential of wastewater as a water, nutrient and energy source," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(1), pages 40-51, February.
    15. Mattioli, A. & Gatti, G.B. & Mattuzzi, G.P. & Cecchi, F. & Bolzonella, D., 2017. "Co-digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and sludge improves the energy balance of wastewater treatment plants: Rovereto case study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 980-988.
    16. Qadir, M. & Drechsel, Pay & Cisneros, B. J. & Kim, Y. & Pramanik, A. & Mehta, P. & Olaniyan, O., 2020. "Global and regional potential of wastewater as a water, nutrient and energy source," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 44(1):40-51.
    17. 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.
    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. Xuege Wang & Yanhong Dong & Shuang Yu & Guangyi Mu & Hong Qu & Zhuan Li & Dejun Bian, 2022. "Analysis of the Electricity Consumption in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Northeast China in Terms of Wastewater Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, November.

    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. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. 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).
    6. 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.
    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. Gupta, Akash Som & Khatiwada, Dilip, 2024. "Investigating the sustainability of biogas recovery systems in wastewater treatment plants- A circular bioeconomy approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    9. 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).
    10. 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).
    11. Molinos-Senante, María & Sala-Garrido, Ramón, 2018. "Evaluation of energy performance of drinking water treatment plants: Use of energy intensity and energy efficiency metrics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 1095-1102.
    12. Radini, Serena & Marinelli, Enrico & Akyol, Çağrı & Eusebi, Anna Laura & Vasilaki, Vasileia & Mancini, Adriano & Frontoni, Emanuele & Bischetti, Gian Battista & Gandolfi, Claudio & Katsou, Evina & Fat, 2021. "Urban water-energy-food-climate nexus in integrated wastewater and reuse systems: Cyber-physical framework and innovations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    13. 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.
    14. 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).
    15. Moazeni, Faegheh & Khazaei, Javad, 2021. "Co-optimization of wastewater treatment plants interconnected with smart grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    16. 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).
    17. 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).
    18. Micari, M. & Cipollina, A. & Tamburini, A. & Moser, M. & Bertsch, V. & Micale, G., 2019. "Combined membrane and thermal desalination processes for the treatment of ion exchange resins spent brine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    19. Sylwia Myszograj & Dariusz Bocheński & Mirosław Mąkowski & Ewelina Płuciennik-Koropczuk, 2021. "Biogas, Solar and Geothermal Energy—The Way to a Net-Zero Energy Wastewater Treatment Plant—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.
    20. 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.

    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:renene:v:196:y:2022:i:c:p:579-597. 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.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    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.