Thermodynamic and economic analyses of sewage sludge resource utilization systems integrating Drying, Incineration, and power generation processes

Zhidong Chen, Yichen Hou, Mingyu Liu, Guoqiang Zhang, Kai Zhang, Dongke Zhang, Lijun Yang, Yanqiang Kong and Xiaoze Du

Applied Energy, 2022, vol. 327, issue C, No S0306261922013502

Abstract: In an effort to beneficially utilize sewage sludge as a resource, a process system integrating sewage sludge drying, incineration, and power generation are proposed and subjected to thermodynamic and economic analysis. The proposed system comprises wet sewage sludge drying using a low pressure steam, dry sewage sludge incineration in a boiler to raise steam for power generation in a steam turbine whose exhaust facilitates the drying of the wet sewage sludge. Three alternative schemes are considered. Scheme 1 features higher temperature and pressure of the turbine exhaust for drying without auxiliary fuel; Scheme 2 includes an external steam input while Scheme 3 incorporates firing of coal as auxiliary fuel. The results indicate that the energy efficiency of Schemes 2 and 3 can reach up to 49.93 % and 48.69 %, respectively. The economic analysis suggests that Scheme 2 outperform Schemes 1 and 3. The cost of electricity for Schemes 2 and 3 are as low as 0.037 and 0.039 USD/kWh, respectively, with corresponding dynamic payback period being 13.63 and 13.70 years. The net present value attains 48.67 million and 48.62 million USD, respectively. Therefore, the proposed schemes 2 and 3 are suitable and promising for sewage sludge resource utilization from the viewpoint of thermodynamics and economics. Moreover, a conceptual proposal for renewable energy dispatch is presented and analyzed, which would provide a reference for practical engineering application.

Keywords: Sewage sludge resource utilization; Sewage sludge drying; Power generation; Thermodynamic analysis; Economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.120093

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