Creating Electricity From Sewage

Sept. 12, 2012
Methane generated from wastewater treatment has been shown to create energy & clean water

Treating sewage takes a lot of energy, but in the face of rising energy costs, creating electricity from wastewater is a near-ideal renewable energy option.

“Wastewater operators are asking themselves how to maximize energy recovery from wastewater treatment as well as minimizing energy consumption in the treatment process,” Paul Greenfield, chair of the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organization, says.

Greenfield is addressing an international water congress in Korea next week about achieving improved sustainability in the urban water sector.

He says the two most valuable products from wastewater treatment are energy and clean water.

“As the price of energy goes up, that will encourage wastewater treatment operators to become more energy efficient and look for more efficient ways of generating energy from the wastewater processing.”

Sewage, or wastewater, needs to be cleaned of chemicals, organic matter, bacteria and viruses—and part of the process to achieve this clean-up can be used to generate electricity, fuel, heat, biogas and more.

Treatment plant operators are increasingly interested in using methane generated from wastewater to power their plants and, in some cases, feed electricity back to the grid.

The main drivers for mining energy from wastewater are rising electricity costs and, similarly, carbon prices in countries that have pollution taxes in place such as Europe and Australia. Modern cities are also turning to greener design and innovation.

Greenfield points out that, with time, “there will be different ways of collecting water—recycled, rainwater, storm water, desalination, reservoirs—and a myriad of uses—industry, agriculture, developing and old areas,” he says.

“We will end up with much more complex systems than we currently have, and see great advances in technology. Operators will certainly want to recover energy, because energy costs are only going to go one way in future.”

The International Water Assn.’s World Water Congress and Exhibition, in Busan, Korea, runs Sept. 16 to 21, 2012.

Sponsored Recommendations

Blower Package Integration

March 20, 2024
See how an integrated blower package can save you time, money, and energy, in a wastewater treatment system. With package integration, you have a completely integrated blower ...

Strut Comparison Chart

March 12, 2024
Conduit support systems are an integral part of construction infrastructure. Compare steel, aluminum and fiberglass strut support systems.

Energy Efficient System Design for WWTPs

Feb. 7, 2024
System splitting with adaptive control reduces electrical, maintenance, and initial investment costs.

Blower Isentropic Efficiency Explained

Feb. 7, 2024
Learn more about isentropic efficiency and specific performance as they relate to blowers.