Grantee Research Project Results
2020 Progress Report: Decreasing the Energy Use in Wastewater Treatment
EPA Grant Number: SV839490Title: Decreasing the Energy Use in Wastewater Treatment
Investigators: Lampert, David , Stine, James , Thomison, David , Wiseman, Rabecca , Rui, Cai , Ahmadvand, Maryam , Atoufi, Hossein , Pamula, Abhiram , Erra, Rachana , Overacker, Nick , Barnes, Dominique , Shaw, Madelyn , Robison, Brooks
Institution: Oklahoma State University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: May 1, 2019 through April 11, 2020 (Extended to April 30, 2022)
Project Period Covered by this Report: May 1, 2020 through April 30,2021
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2019) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) consume between 0.8% and 3% of all electricity in the United States. Energy savings measures in WWTPs have the potential for substantial pollution reduction. Aeration processes in WWTPs facilitate the growth of microorganisms that consume biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to protect dissolved oxygen (DO) from dropping in receiving waters. Blowers used in aeration processes consume substantial amounts of electricity to supply the air. Many WWTPs supply excess oxygen to ensure water quality compliance with little thought to the energy costs, particularly in smaller communities with limited operational resources.
The goals of this project are to develop technology to reduce aeration costs in WWTPs and assess the potential for such technology to reduce energy usage and pollution. The technology uses sensors and algorithms to adjust aeration to activated sludge processes as DO and BOD fluctuate to meet regulatory constraints while simultaneously minimizing energy consumption. The project objectives are to: (1) generate a large dataset of reactor performance over a range of operating conditions in a lab-scale system, (2) develop and parameterize a predictive model of the process, (3) demonstrate the capability to minimize aeration and ensure BOD compliance using the model, (4) create a process model for a full-scale facility using the data from the lab-scale research to assess potential performance and cost savings, (5) apply the design to operate the Stillwater WWTP for a Beta testing.
Progress Summary:
Progress to date includes construction and testing with a lab-scale aeration system and compilation of data from Stillwater and other WWTPs in Oklahoma. The dissolved oxygen, nitrates, ammonia, turbidity, pH, and conductivity data are monitored using an array of sensors and uploaded automatically to an online directory continuously. Operational data from the Stillwater facility has been used to develop a process model for comparison with the novel sensing control approach. The system has been used to automate air delivery based on set parameter threshold and collect a dataset of reactor performance through varying dissolved oxygen concentrations. Energy consumption, flow, and BOD data have been collected from 28 WWTPs serving populations between 10,000 and 100,000 people and used to assess current wastewater energy consumption and the associated life cycle emissions. The data have been analyzed and developed into two manuscripts. Additional lab testing is being performed with novel sensors and a variable frequency drive system to optimize performance. The new system will provide improved transferability and easier scaling, since the components are low-cost and open source.
Future Activities:
Aeration accounts for the majority of energy consumption at mid-sized facilities in Oklahoma. DO concentrations frequently approach saturation in aeration basins in these facilities. It is possible to use a sensor array combined with a variable frequency drive motor to control and optimize performance for wastewater aeration systems. The indirect emissions from treatment of one gallon of wastewater in Oklahoma are 130 grams of CO2 per gallon of wastewater treated. WWTPs in Oklahoma could save an estimated total of $2.7 million and 30,000 metric tons of CO2 per year after implementing this technology, which is equivalent to removing 6,500 passenger vehicles from the road each year.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 5 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
treatment technologies, energy efficiency, life cycle analysis, industrial ecology, computer models, monitoring resource consumption, sustainable water managementRelevant Websites:
2018 Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup Winners Exit , OSU Exit , OSU News Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Decreasing the Energy Use in Wastewater Treatment | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.