Determination of the Internal Chemical Energy of Wastewater

Heidrich, Elizabeth S.; Curtis, Tom; Dolfing, Jan

doi:10.1021/es103058w

Cited by 361 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

183

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The economic boon could be higher still for industrial wastewaters in the agricultural, food and petrochemical sectors 1 . For example, AnMBRs can remove up to 98% of the organic matter (around 18 kilograms per cubic metre) from petrochemical effluent, producing 100 times more methane than is achievable with domestic wastewater.…”

Section: Economic Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemistry: Reuse water pollutants

Rittmann

2015

Nature

358

133

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Economic Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemistry: Reuse water pollutants

Rittmann

2015

Nature

358

133

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The "waste" transported away from urban areas actually removes valuable elements. Not until recent times when water pollution has become prevalent, energy costs have increased, and finite mineral resources are depleting, has wastewater begun to be reconsidered as a resource [65][66][67][68][69]. In fact, there is no such thing as waste in nature, only wasted resources [70].…”

Section: Mixed Wastewatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

Xue

González-Mejía

et al. 2015

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban water systems are an example of complex, dynamic human-environment coupled systems which exhibit emergent behaviors that transcend individual scientific disciplines. While previous siloed approaches to water services (i.e., water resources, drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) have led to great improvements in public health protection, sustainable solutions for a growing global population facing increased resource constraints demand a paradigm shift based on holistic management to maximize the use and recovery of water, energy, nutrients, and materials. The objective of this review paper is to highlight the issues in traditional water systems including water demand and use, centralized configuration, sewer collection systems, characteristics of mixed wastewater, and to explore alternative solutions such as decentralized water systems, fit for purpose and water reuse, OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 12072 natural/green infrastructure, vacuum sewer collection systems, and nutrient/energy recovery. This review also emphasizes a system thinking approach for evaluating alternatives that should include sustainability indicators and metrics such as emergy to assess global system efficiency. An example paradigm shift design for urban water system is presented, not as the recommended solution for all environments, but to emphasize the framework of system-level analysis and the need to visualize water services as an organic whole. When water systems are designed to maximize the resources and optimum efficiency, they are more prevailing and sustainable than siloed management because a system is more than the sum of its parts.

show abstract

“…There is, however, great benefit in decoupling this nexus of water and energy use. One irony is that wastewater has a chemical energy content higher than the energy required to treat it, the former just needs to be harnessed (Heidrich et al 2011). Increasingly, anaerobic digestion (AD) is being deployed around the world in both high-tech and low-tech configurations.…”

Section: Water Security At the Energy Crossroadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water security at the energy crossroads

Byers¹

2014

Global Water: Issues and Insights

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water, sanitation, and energy are undoubtedly keystone components of civil infrastructure that enable cities to support populations; they are the foundations of civilisation. The growth of megacities is, however, rapidly depleting water resources and leading to declining levels of water security across the world. Failure of critical infrastructure services, such as water and energy, can cripple a city in a matter of hours and leave millions vulnerable.Yet that which is most dear to us is now often subject to complex interactions before we are able to access it. Energy is used for pumping, transport and treatment of water and wastewater; water is used through most stages of energy production and generation. But most of the resources used are non-renewable, often involve pollution and bring us closer to the planetary boundaries defining the safe operating space of humanity (Rockström et al. 2009). Should we continue propagating the interdependencies between energy and water or should, in some cases at least, we be working to decouple these two crucial resources?In the current system, increasing demands on one usually means increasing demands on the other. But there are alternatives and, hence, water security finds itself at the 'energy crossroads' through the multitude of options available for alleviating scarcity issues; options which may use disparate levels of energy. On the other hand, water security also meets energy at the crossroads in a future that is partly governed by the water-intensity of future energy systems.Increasingly, the analysis of water supply options is conducted considering the energy intensity of exploiting that resource. A variety of capital-intensive options to meet marginal demands may be evaluated, including desalination, wastewater recycling, inter-basin transfers and increased storage capacity. The uncertainties in the performance and utility of each option may, however, be large. These variabilities are driven by the energy sector and stem from variation in demand growth, energy price fluctuation and dependency on climatevulnerable water resources. These uncertainties, amongst others, present a challenge in predicting future operational expenditure, the majority of which is usually energy costs. In the United Kingdom, higher water-quality standards have resulted in a doubling of energy use since the 1990s, and this is set to rise (Council for Science and Technology (CST) 2009); lower river flows during

show abstract

Determination of the Internal Chemical Energy of Wastewater

Cited by 361 publications

References 9 publications

Chemistry: Reuse water pollutants

Chemistry: Reuse water pollutants

Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework

Water security at the energy crossroads

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About