Energy-Efficiency Index in Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Data-Envelopment Analysis
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 2
Abstract
The reduction of energy consumption in industrial wastewater treatment plants (IWTPs) is an important issue because of global warming, fossil-fuel scarcity, and high energy cost. This paper studied the energy-efficiency index (EEI) of 79 IWTPs across Iran and discussed the impact of different factors on it. Data-envelopment analysis (DEA) was used, in which an efficiency score of 0–1 was allocated for every IWTP. Maximum potential saving, in terms of energy consumption and of emissions, was measured. It was found that 73.4% of IWTPs had poor energy efficiency, with EEIs lower than 0.3, and only 2.6% of IWTPs achieved an EEI of higher than 0.7. Each effective variable on the EEI of IWTPs, such as treatment plant age and size, COD removal, process type, pumping station, and aeration method, had their own effect on EEI, energy consumption, and emission. According to the results, the improvement of the EEI of IWTPs will result in 72.9% savings in energy cost, and about 52.8 t less will be emitted into the atmosphere annually. Therefore, upgrading the EEI of all IWTPs in the world can significantly reduce both energy costs and emission. The results contribute to energy management in IWTPs.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 2 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 24, 2018
Accepted: Jun 24, 2019
Published online: Dec 9, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 9, 2020
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