Energy optimization of wastewater treatment plants using modeling

Coordinator :

Sylvie GILLOT

Active period:

2017-2019

Financing :

AERMC,INRAE

Partners :

INRAE-PROSE, INSA DEEP, AERMC

Abstract

Curbing the energy expenditures associated with sanitation systems has become a focal point over the past several years, alongside limiting system operating costs and mitigating the environmental impacts on infrastructure. A major difficulty encountered in lowering the energy-related expenses of treatment plants pertains to the fact that processes are often optimized in silos, without accounting for the overall impact due to the choice of design, the specifications or operations on a facility’s aggregate performance, in particular its environmental rating. The impact of sludge treatment processes on water supply and vice versa is however fairly well known. To overcome this difficulty and study various scenarios form a holistic perspective, operations modeling tools applicable to such installations prove to be most suitable. The primary objective of the “Analysis of potential and actual energy savings at designated energy-efficient treatment plants” line of investigation is thus to identify the means for reducing energy expenditures by coupling a biological stage using activated sludge with an anaerobic digester and then quantifying the potential savings. This project has been set up within the scope of the call for projects issued by the Rhone-Mediterranean-Corsica (RMC) Water Agency, entitled “Mitigating the energy impact of sanitation systems: Energy Recovery / Generation”.