The Economics of Wastewater Treatment Decentralization: A Techno-economic Evaluation

Abstract

The existing wastewater treatment infrastructure has not adequately established an efficient and sustainable use of energy, water, and nutrients. A proposed scheme based on source separation and water-efficient use is compared to the current wastewater management paradigm (one largely based on activated sludge) using techno-economic terms. This paper explores the economic viability of adopting more sustainable management alternatives and expands the understanding of the economics of decentralization and source-separation. The feasibility of three different potential types of source-separation (with different levels of decentralization) are compared to the conventional centralized activated sludge process by using recognized economic assessment methodologies together with widely accepted modeling tools. The alternatives were evaluated for two common scenarios: new developments and retrofit due to the aging of existing infrastructures. The results prove that source-separated alternatives can be competitive options despite existing drawbacks (only when countable incomes are included), while the hybrid approach resulted in the least cost-effective solution. A detailed techno-economic evaluation of the costs of decentralization provides insight into the current constraints concerning the paradigm shift and the cost of existing technologic inertia.

When the fourth water and digital revolution encountered COVID-19

“…Digitalisation can also support the deployment of another management paradigm. Decentralised systems are more resilient, offer redundancy, and minimize personnel density and direct contact in the case of epidemics/pandemics ( Garrido-Baserba et al, 2018 ; Sun et al, 2020 ). Digital platforms can support the management of infrastructure at the scale of a neighbourhood ( Garrido-Baserba et al, 2020 ).…”

Analysis of Toxic Chemical Substance Present in Wastewater Samples Around the Urban Area of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

“…The values significant difference (P<0.05) among study. The major problems connected with the spread of industrial and urban wastes are generated by human activities, which are the contamination of water and soil, the controlled and uncontrolled disposal of wastes, process spillage, and sewage sludge application to agricultural soils [20]. pH of 10.15-8.8 and 7.79-7.82 were recorded in samples like S 1 -S 4 respectively.…”

Impact hotspots of reduced nutrient discharge shift across the globe with population and dietary changes

“…In this study, improved sanitation coverage included centralised and decentralised service facilities; therefore, we assumed that the above-mentioned engineering technologies for pollution control were available for both types of wastewater services. Currently, decentralised wastewater treatment is recognised as a possible solution that would satisfy sanitation requirements 54 . In addition, many existing biological approaches used in centralised wastewater facilities could be applied in decentralised systems in small towns, peri-urban areas, and rural communities in developing countries such as China and India 55 , depending on the system layout and actual operating conditions 56 .…”