A data analysis approach to evaluate the impact of the capacity utilization on the energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants

• Published in: Sustainable cities and society 2019-02, Vol.45, p.307-313
• Main Authors: Torregrossa, D., Castellet-Viciano, L., Hernández-Sancho, F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Data analysis; Energy cost; Operational distance parameter; Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)
• ISSN: 2210-6707; 2210-6715
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2018.11.036

•The inaccurate estimation of design inflow increases the WWTPs energy consumption.•The energy costs due to a not optimal WWTP capacity utilization are investigated.•A new methodology to quantify these energy costs is presented.•This methodology offers decision-making support for WWTP energy optimization.•This methodology is very profitable for designers, managers and public authorities. The reduction of energy consumption in Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is a challenge for the scientific community and for the public authorities. A source of excessive energy cost is the mismatching between operational and design inflow (i.e. capacity utilization): this issue is very relevant above all in areas with high demographic seasonality. Consequently, it is really important to have operational decision criteria to evaluate the impact of a low capacity utilization on energy consumption. In order to provide the scientific community and the plant managers with an adequate criterion, we propose a user-friendly methodology to identify critical conditions of capacity utilization. The novelty of this paper relies upon the combination of a parametric approach and statistical analysis. This methodology has a practical value for plant managers and designers that can improve their comprehension of plant performances by using a user-friendly decision-making criterion.