Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants
Photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are considered good renewable energy technologies due to their high production of clean energy. This paper combines a PV system with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which are usually designed separately. For this, a recent methodology was adopted, which provides...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Infrastructures |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/7/6/79 |
| _version_ | 1797486244917149696 |
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| author | Enrico Zacchei Antonio Colacicco |
| author_facet | Enrico Zacchei Antonio Colacicco |
| author_sort | Enrico Zacchei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are considered good renewable energy technologies due to their high production of clean energy. This paper combines a PV system with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which are usually designed separately. For this, a recent methodology was adopted, which provides direct steps to estimate the peak powers of PV plants (PVPs) by using the airflow of blowers. The goal was to reduce the energy consumption of aeration tanks in WWTPs. Analytical equations and parameters based on the air temperature, solar irradiation, biological kinetic, dissolved oxygen, and mechanical oxygenation are adopted. The key parameter in this methodology is the air temperature variation that represents an approximated temperature in the WWTP’s oxidation tanks. It is shown, through the analysis of small WWTPs, that since the temperature changes for each season, there is a peak in the function of the quantity of oxidation, which is high in the summer season. Further, the curve trends of temperature for WWRPs are similar to PVPs. Therefore, it could be possible to design the PV system with the WWTPs well. The results show that the air temperature curves increase in a directly proportional way with the consumption of energy from oxidation blowers; this could induce a more conservative PVP design. Furthermore, the results show that the mean trend of the energy consumption of the analyzed aeration systems reaches about 8.0% at a temperature of 20–25 °C, covering a good part of the oxidation tank consumption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:30:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b17da8c0af3348f8812ba01ceadf576a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2412-3811 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:30:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Infrastructures |
| spelling | doaj.art-b17da8c0af3348f8812ba01ceadf576a2023-11-23T17:10:13ZengMDPI AGInfrastructures2412-38112022-06-01767910.3390/infrastructures7060079Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment PlantsEnrico Zacchei0Antonio Colacicco1Itecons, 3030-289 Coimbra, PortugalEnvironmental Engineer-Freelancer, Luigi Pernier Avenue, 00124 Rome, ItalyPhotovoltaic (PV) energy systems are considered good renewable energy technologies due to their high production of clean energy. This paper combines a PV system with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which are usually designed separately. For this, a recent methodology was adopted, which provides direct steps to estimate the peak powers of PV plants (PVPs) by using the airflow of blowers. The goal was to reduce the energy consumption of aeration tanks in WWTPs. Analytical equations and parameters based on the air temperature, solar irradiation, biological kinetic, dissolved oxygen, and mechanical oxygenation are adopted. The key parameter in this methodology is the air temperature variation that represents an approximated temperature in the WWTP’s oxidation tanks. It is shown, through the analysis of small WWTPs, that since the temperature changes for each season, there is a peak in the function of the quantity of oxidation, which is high in the summer season. Further, the curve trends of temperature for WWRPs are similar to PVPs. Therefore, it could be possible to design the PV system with the WWTPs well. The results show that the air temperature curves increase in a directly proportional way with the consumption of energy from oxidation blowers; this could induce a more conservative PVP design. Furthermore, the results show that the mean trend of the energy consumption of the analyzed aeration systems reaches about 8.0% at a temperature of 20–25 °C, covering a good part of the oxidation tank consumption.https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/7/6/79auto-consumption systemsclean energyoxidation tanksPVPWWTP |
| spellingShingle | Enrico Zacchei Antonio Colacicco Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants Infrastructures auto-consumption systems clean energy oxidation tanks PVP WWTP |
| title | Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants |
| title_full | Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants |
| title_fullStr | Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants |
| title_short | Direct Method to Design Solar Photovoltaics to Reduce Energy Consumption of Aeration Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants |
| title_sort | direct method to design solar photovoltaics to reduce energy consumption of aeration tanks in wastewater treatment plants |
| topic | auto-consumption systems clean energy oxidation tanks PVP WWTP |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/7/6/79 |
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