Suitability Pre-Assessment of in-Sewer Heat Recovery Sites Combining Energy and Wastewater Perspectives

Franz Huber, Georg Neugebauer, Thomas Ertl and Florian Kretschmer
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Franz Huber: Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Georg Neugebauer: Institute of Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Rearrangement, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Thomas Ertl: Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Florian Kretschmer: Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-32

Abstract: In many countries around the world heating (and cooling) has been and will remain the biggest energy sector, but it is still widely dominated by fossil energy sources today. Wastewater as a source of renewable energy contains large amounts of heat and due to its place-bound localization in urban sewer systems it is usually also situated in very close distance to potential heat consumers. However, one has to keep in mind that heat extraction from wastewater might have undesired impacts on temperature-sensitive treatment processes in the related wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). To assess the potential impact of in-sewer heat recovery on inflow temperature, two different approaches are available today: a simple (but less significant) alligation alternate, or very accurate (but less practical) mathematical models. To close the gap between practicability and significance this article introduces a novel approach to pre-assess the suitability of in-sewer heat recovery sites based on little and easily available data considering energy- and wastewater-related perspectives. A case study application demonstrates the informative value and general usability of the approach. Consequently, the proposed procedure can provide guidance and a template for related investigations at any place in a conventional (combined or separated) sewer system.

Keywords: climate change; renewable energy; wastewater treatment plant; heat pump; heat exchanger; relevance tree (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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