Study of the Potential for Energy Use of Biogas From a Wastewater Treatment Plant To a Medium-Sized City: A Technical, Economic and Environmental Analysis

Waste treatment is an essential activity with critical environmental, social, and sanitary impacts. As energy demand grows, linking wastewater treatment to electrical energy production through biogas from anaerobic digestion becomes an attractive alternative from both technical and economic perspect...

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Published inWaste and biomass valorization Vol. 13; no. 8; pp. 3509 - 3521
Main Authors Freitas, Flávio Ferreira, Coelho, Ulisses Raad, Silva, Sara Talita Sales, Gomes, Andresa Aparecida Lemes, Barros, Regina Mambeli, Filho, Geraldo Lúcio Tiago, Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva, dos Santos, Ivan Felipe Silva
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2022
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Activated sludge
Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic processes
Biogas
Economic analysis
Electricity
Emissions control
Energy consumption
Energy demand
Engineering
Environment
Environmental assessment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Feasibility studies
Greenhouse gases
Industrial Pollution Prevention
Original Paper
Renewable and Green Energy
Sewage sludge
Sludge
Sludge digestion
Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors
Waste Management/Waste Technology
Waste treatment
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water treatment
Energy recovery
Biodigestion
Renewable energies
Sewage treatment
Biogas generation
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Summary:Waste treatment is an essential activity with critical environmental, social, and sanitary impacts. As energy demand grows, linking wastewater treatment to electrical energy production through biogas from anaerobic digestion becomes an attractive alternative from both technical and economic perspectives. In light of this scenario, this study aims to evaluate the feasibility of generating energy from two anaerobic processes: digestion using Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) technology, as well as sewage sludge from an activated sludge processing system (ASPS). The study also encompasses an environmental assessment of the reduced impact generated by replacing electricity from the grid with biogas energy. Results demonstrate financial feasibility for both processes; the UASB reactor and the ASPS presented NPV of 5.88 MR$ and 9.02 MR$, IRR of 17.1% and positive cash flow from the 10th year for both technologies, respectively. With regard to emission reductions, replacing electricity from the grid with biogas electricity lowered greenhouse gas generation by 3,316.8 tCO 2 eq/year and 5,092.7 tCO 2 eq/year for the UASB and ASPS operations, respectively. As a result, activated sludge digestion proved more attractive according to the parameters analyzed. Graphical abstract
ISSN:1877-2641
1877-265X
DOI:10.1007/s12649-022-01727-8