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Economic Assessment of Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Applicability of Alternative Nature-Based Technologies in Portugal
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Understanding how to address today’s global challenges is critical to improving corporate performance in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. In wastewater treatment systems, such an approach implies integrating efficient treatment technologies with aspects of the circular economy. In this business field, energy costs represent a large share of operating costs. This work discusses technological and management aspects leading to greater energy savings in Portuguese wastewater treatment companies. A mixed methodology, involving qualitative and quantitative aspects, for collecting and analysing data from wastewater treatment plants was used. The qualitative aspects consisted of a narrative analysis of the information available on reports and websites for 11 wastewater management companies in Portugal (e.g., technologies, treated wastewater volumes and operating costs) followed by a review of several international studies. The quantitative approach involved calculating the specific energy consumption (kWh/m3), energy operating costs (EUR/m3) and energy operating costs per population equivalent (EUR/inhabitants) using data from the literature and from Portuguese companies collected from the SABI database. The results suggested that the most environmentally and economically sustainable solution is algae-based technology which might allow a reduction in energy operating costs between 0.05–0.41 EUR/m3 and 15.4–180.8 EUR/inhabitants compared to activated sludge and other conventional methods. This technology, in addition to being financially advantageous, provides the ability to eliminate the carbon footprint and the valorisation of algae biomass, suggesting that this biotechnology is starting to position itself as a mandatory future solution in the wastewater treatment sector
Description
Keywords
Biotechnology Conventional wastewater technologies Economic sustainability Energy saving; Microalgae technologies; Wastewater
Citation
Santos, E.; Albuquerque, A.; Lisboa, I.; Murray, P.; Ermis, H. Economic Assessment of Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Applicability of Alternative Nature-Based Technologies in Portugal. Water 2022, 14, 2042. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14132042