Integrating Reliability and Energy Efficiency Assessments for Pinpointing Actionable Strategies for Enhanced Performance of Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants

By leveraging performance assessment systems (PASs) and incorporating targeted strategies, utilities can enhance the overall effectiveness, reliability, efficiency, and environmental performance of their wastewater treatment facilities. This work presents the results obtained from a comprehensive analysis of treatment reliability and energy performance of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The results allowed identifying, for each WWTP, improvement needs related to the aeration energy requirements, as well as to determine the effluent concentration targets required to achieve higher reliability levels while potentially reducing running costs. By analysing reliability combined with energy efficiency, this methodology allowed identifying the WWTPs’ performance-limiting stages or dysfunctions that affect both effectiveness and efficiency, to estimate the investment needs and prioritize the rehabilitation or even retrofitting of facilities’ assets.