Techno-Economic Assessment of CHP Systems in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) utilization of combined heat and power (CHP) systems allows for the efficient use of on-site biogas production, as well as increased annual savings in utility costs. In this paper, a review of biogas energy recovery options, CHP prime mover technologies, and the cos...

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Published inEnvironments (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 7; no. 10; p. 74
Main Authors Riley, Derall M., Tian, Jiashen, Güngör-Demirci, Gamze, Phelan, Patrick, Villalobos, J. Rene, Milcarek, Ryan J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2020
MDPI
Subjects
anaerobic digestion (AD)
Biogas
Capital costs
Carbon dioxide
Cogeneration
combined heat and power (CHP)
Economics
Efficiency
Effluents
Electricity
Energy
Energy recovery
Environmental protection
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Fuel cells
gas turbines
Hydrogen sulfide
Installation costs
internal combustion engine
Maintenance costs
Microorganisms
Natural gas
Piston engines
Sedimentation & deposition
Siloxanes
Sludge
Sulfur
Tolerances
Tractors
Turbines
Wastewater treatment
wastewater treatment plant
Wastewater treatment plants
Water treatment
United States > US
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Summary:Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) utilization of combined heat and power (CHP) systems allows for the efficient use of on-site biogas production, as well as increased annual savings in utility costs. In this paper, a review of biogas energy recovery options, CHP prime mover technologies, and the costs associated with biogas cleaning give a broad summary of the current state of CHP technology in WWTPs. Even though there are six different prime mover technologies, the main ones currently being implemented in WWTPs are micro turbines, fuel cells and reciprocating engines. Different prime movers offer varying efficiencies, installation costs, and biogas impurity (H2S, siloxanes, HCl) tolerances. To evaluate the long-term savings capabilities, a techno-economic assessment of a CHP installation at a case study WWTP shows the payback, annual savings, and initial costs associated with the installation of a CHP system. In this case, a study a payback of 5.7 years and a net present value of USD 709,000 can be achieved when the WWTP generates over 2,000,000 m3 of biogas per year and utilizes over 36,000 GJ of natural gas per year.
Bibliography:USDOE
EE0007721
ISSN:2076-3298
2076-3298
DOI:10.3390/environments7100074