IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2022i1p44-d1009686.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heat Recovery from a Wastewater Treatment Process—Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Tomasz Łokietek

    (Faculty of Maritime Technology and Transport, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 17, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Wojciech Tuchowski

    (Faculty of Maritime Technology and Transport, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 17, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Dorota Leciej-Pirczewska

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 17, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Anna Głowacka

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 17, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland)

Abstract

This article presents the potential of heat recovery from wastewater with an example of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Mokrawica, which is located in the West Pomeranian region of Poland. A thorough literature review discusses the relevance of the topic and shows examples of heat recovery conducted with heat pumps. Raw and treated wastewater are mostly used as heat sources, with the latter achieving higher thermal capacities. Heat recovery from a biological treatment process is rarely implemented and requires more detailed studies on this subject. The proposed methodology for estimating possible heat recovered from wastewater, requiring heating and cooling capacities, as well as the coefficient of performance (COP) of a heat pump, is based on only three parameters: wastewater volumetric flow, wastewater temperature, and the required temperature for heating or air-conditioning. The heat recovery potential was determined for different parts of WWTP processes, i.e., the sand box, aeration chamber, secondary sedimentation tank, and treated sewage disposal. The average values of 309–451 kW and a minimum of 58–68 kW in winter were determined. The results also indicate that, depending on the location of the heat recovery, it is possible to obtain from wastewater between 57.9 kW and 93.8 kW of heat or transfer to wastewater from 185.9 to 228.2 kW. To improve biological treatment processes in the winter season, wastewater should be preheated with a minimum of 349–356 kW that can be recovered from the treated wastewater. The heat transferred to the wastewater from the air-conditioning system amounts to 138–141 kW. By comparing the required cooling and heating capacities with the available resources, it is possible to fully recover or transfer the heat for central heating, hot water, and air conditioning of the building. Partial preheating of wastewater during the treatment process requires further analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomasz Łokietek & Wojciech Tuchowski & Dorota Leciej-Pirczewska & Anna Głowacka, 2022. "Heat Recovery from a Wastewater Treatment Process—Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:44-:d:1009686
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/44/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/44/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Georg Neugebauer & Florian Kretschmer & René Kollmann & Michael Narodoslawsky & Thomas Ertl & Gernot Stoeglehner, 2015. "Mapping Thermal Energy Resource Potentials from Wastewater Treatment Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Konstantinos Ninikas & Nicholas Hytiris & Rohinton Emmanuel & Bjorn Aaen, 2019. "Recovery and Valorisation of Energy from Wastewater Using a Water Source Heat Pump at the Glasgow Subway: Potential for Similar Underground Environments," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10, October.
    3. Chae, Kyu-Jung & Ren, Xianghao, 2016. "Flexible and stable heat energy recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants using a fixed-inverter hybrid heat pump system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 565-574.
    4. Schlosser, F. & Jesper, M. & Vogelsang, J. & Walmsley, T.G. & Arpagaus, C. & Hesselbach, J., 2020. "Large-scale heat pumps: Applications, performance, economic feasibility and industrial integration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    5. Ali Kahraman & Alaeddin Çelebi, 2009. "Investigation of the Performance of a Heat Pump Using Waste Water as a Heat Source," Energies, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-17, August.
    6. Somogyi, Viola & Sebestyén, Viktor & Domokos, Endre, 2018. "Assessment of wastewater heat potential for district heating in Hungary," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 712-721.
    7. Selbaş, Reşat & Kızılkan, Önder & Şencan, Arzu, 2006. "Thermoeconomic optimization of subcooled and superheated vapor compression refrigeration cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 2108-2128.
    8. Andrei David & Brian Vad Mathiesen & Helge Averfalk & Sven Werner & Henrik Lund, 2017. "Heat Roadmap Europe: Large-Scale Electric Heat Pumps in District Heating Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Elías-Maxil, J.A. & van der Hoek, Jan Peter & Hofman, Jan & Rietveld, Luuk, 2014. "Energy in the urban water cycle: Actions to reduce the total expenditure of fossil fuels with emphasis on heat reclamation from urban water," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 808-820.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ziyang Guo & Yongjun Sun & Shu-Yuan Pan & Pen-Chi Chiang, 2019. "Integration of Green Energy and Advanced Energy-Efficient Technologies for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-29, April.
    2. Jesper, Mateo & Schlosser, Florian & Pag, Felix & Walmsley, Timothy Gordon & Schmitt, Bastian & Vajen, Klaus, 2021. "Large-scale heat pumps: Uptake and performance modelling of market-available devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. Florian Kretschmer & Georg Neugebauer & Gernot Stoeglehner & Thomas Ertl, 2018. "Participation as a Key Aspect for Establishing Wastewater as a Source of Renewable Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Marco Pellegrini & Augusto Bianchini, 2018. "The Innovative Concept of Cold District Heating Networks: A Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Reiners, Tobias & Gross, Michel & Altieri, Lisa & Wagner, Hermann-Josef & Bertsch, Valentin, 2021. "Heat pump efficiency in fifth generation ultra-low temperature district heating networks using a wastewater heat source," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    6. Franz Huber & Georg Neugebauer & Thomas Ertl & Florian Kretschmer, 2020. "Suitability Pre-Assessment of in-Sewer Heat Recovery Sites Combining Energy and Wastewater Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-32, December.
    7. Volkova, A. & Koduvere, H. & Pieper, H., 2022. "Large-scale heat pumps for district heating systems in the Baltics: Potential and impact," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Pieper, Henrik & Krupenski, Igor & Brix Markussen, Wiebke & Ommen, Torben & Siirde, Andres & Volkova, Anna, 2021. "Method of linear approximation of COP for heat pumps and chillers based on thermodynamic modelling and off-design operation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    9. Ziemele, Jelena & Volkova, Anna & Latõšov, Eduard & Murauskaitė, Lina & Džiuvė, Vytautas, 2023. "Comparative assessment of heat recovery from treated wastewater in the district heating systems of the three capitals of the Baltic countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    10. Jānis Krūmiņš & Māris Kļaviņš, 2023. "Investigating the Potential of Nuclear Energy in Achieving a Carbon-Free Energy Future," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-31, April.
    11. Guelpa, Elisa & Bischi, Aldo & Verda, Vittorio & Chertkov, Michael & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Towards future infrastructures for sustainable multi-energy systems: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 2-21.
    12. Khosravi, Fatemeh & Lowes, Richard & Ugalde-Loo, Carlos E., 2023. "Cooling is hotting up in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    13. Jussi Saari & Ekaterina Sermyagina & Juha Kaikko & Markus Haider & Marcelo Hamaguchi & Esa Vakkilainen, 2021. "Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Potential through Back-End Heat Recovery in the Kraft Recovery Boiler," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    14. Nolting, Lars & Praktiknjo, Aaron, 2019. "Techno-economic analysis of flexible heat pump controls," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1417-1433.
    15. Pieper, Henrik & Ommen, Torben & Elmegaard, Brian & Brix Markussen, Wiebke, 2019. "Assessment of a combination of three heat sources for heat pumps to supply district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 156-170.
    16. Bakirci, Kadir & Colak, Derya, 2012. "Effect of a superheating and sub-cooling heat exchanger to the performance of a ground source heat pump system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 996-1004.
    17. Chambers, Jonathan & Narula, Kapil & Sulzer, Matthias & Patel, Martin K., 2019. "Mapping district heating potential under evolving thermal demand scenarios and technologies: A case study for Switzerland," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 682-692.
    18. Ramadan, Mohamad & Murr, Rabih & Khaled, Mahmoud & Olabi, Abdul Ghani, 2018. "Mixed numerical - Experimental approach to enhance the heat pump performance by drain water heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1010-1021.
    19. Tang, Fujiao & Nowamooz, Hossein, 2018. "Long-term performance of a shallow borehole heat exchanger installed in a geothermal field of Alsace region," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(PA), pages 210-222.
    20. Stefan Arens & Sunke Schlüters & Benedikt Hanke & Karsten von Maydell & Carsten Agert, 2020. "Sustainable Residential Energy Supply: A Literature Review-Based Morphological Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-28, January.

    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:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:44-:d:1009686. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.