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Transforming Urban Water Systems Towards A More Sustainable Future - Implications of Energy Recovery
Citation:
Ma, Xin. Transforming Urban Water Systems Towards A More Sustainable Future - Implications of Energy Recovery. Presented at A&WMA, Orlando, FL, June 05 - 08, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Encourage resource recovery in wastewater industry and help the industry achieve net-zero (net-positive).
Description:
Urban water systems are not self-contained units, economically or ecologically. They rely on larger biophysical supports from natural capital. The behavior of such systems as a whole and the interactions between subcomponents can be observed. The optimization at system level to achieve overall system efficiency will not only avoid burden shifting and inform more efficient subsystem design, but also provide sustainability and resiliency for the systems. Complex, dynamic human-environment coupled water systems require a paradigm shift from the traditional “siloed” (drinking water, wastewater, stormwater etc.) management approach and a move towards more holistic approaches to address the multiple issues facing municipal water systems. The concepts of fit-for-purpose, resource recovery and decentralization to maximize resource use (energy, nutrients, materials, and water) have been considered to provide more sustainable solutions to satisfy various water services. Here we present how wastewater facilities incorporate anaerobic co-digestion (AD) with food waste and achieve the potential net-zero energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emission. The showcase studies reinforce the concept of transforming wastewater treatment plant to resource recovery hub. It is not only environmentally sound with preserved resources and assets, and reduced pollution, but also economically viable with increased sustainability and resiliency.