Analysis of the Energy Flow in a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Based on a Supercritical Water Oxidation Reactor Coupled to a Gas Turbine

Biological municipal wastewater treatments lead to high sludge generation and long retention times, and the possibilities for recovery of the energy content of the input waste stream are very limited due to the low operating temperature. As an alternative, we propose a sequence of exclusively physic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Processes 2021-07, Vol.9 (7), p.1237
Main Authors: Mato, Fidel A., Peña, Mar, García-Rodríguez, Yoana, Bermejo, María-Dolores, Martín, Ángel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Corrosion
Electricity consumption
Energy consumption
Energy costs
Energy efficiency
Energy flow
Energy recovery
Evaporation
Gas turbines
Gases
Heat
Mathematical models
Municipal wastewater
Operating temperature
Oxidation
Pollutants
Reactors
Sludge
Supercritical water oxidation
Turbines
Ultrafiltration
Waste management
Wastewater treatment
Water treatment
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Summary:Biological municipal wastewater treatments lead to high sludge generation and long retention times, and the possibilities for recovery of the energy content of the input waste stream are very limited due to the low operating temperature. As an alternative, we propose a sequence of exclusively physicochemical, non-biological stages that avoid sludge production, while producing high-grade energy outflows favoring recovery, all in shorter times. Ultrafiltration and evaporation units provide a front-end concentration block, while a supercritical water oxidation reactor serves as the main treatment unit. A new approach for energy recovery from the effluent of the reactor is proposed, based on its injection in a gas turbine, which presents advantages over simpler direct utilization methods from operational and efficiency points of view. A process layout and a numerical simulation to assess this proposal have been developed. Results show that the model process, characterized with proven operating parameters, found a range of feasible solutions to the treatment problem with similar energy costs, at a fast speed, without sludge production, while co-generating the municipality’s average electricity consumption.
ISSN:2227-9717
2227-9717
DOI:10.3390/pr9071237