Analysis of energy consumption at the Rzeszów Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants can be classified as energy-intensive facilities, as they account for up to 35 percent of municipal energy consumption. Pumps and aeration systems consume a significant portion of energy within the wastewater plants in particular. The cost of energy consumption for wastewater treatment processes reaches up to 40% of the total operating cost. In case of the WWTPs with the activated sludge systems, about 50% of energy is used for aeration and mixing purposes. At WWTPs, energy consumption is often correlated with the magnitude and type of pollutant load, which can influence the treatment methods and technologies used in the WWTP. In many cases wastewater treatment plants are operated without optimized measures for process optimization. A detailed study of the energy consumption should be executed in order to determine the optimization potential. This paper presents the energy consumption in municipal wastewater treatment plant in Rzeszów (Poland). In the year 2016, parameters of raw and treated wastewater were tested. The data related to energy consumption in plants allowed us to determine the energy intensity coefficients. Total consumption was measured. Indicators of energy consumption per cubic meter and removed load were calculated.