TY - JOUR
T1 - A techno-economic analysis of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for the reuse of municipal wastewater
AU - Kehrein, Philipp
AU - Jafari, Morez
AU - Slagt, Marc
AU - Cornelissen, Emile
AU - Osseweijer, Patricia
AU - Posada, John
AU - van Loosdrecht, Mark
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The objective of this paper is to compare, under Dutch market conditions, the energy consumption and net costs of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for three water reuse types (i.e. potable, industrial, agricultural reuse). The water source is municipal waste-water treatment plant effluent. Results indicate that the application of reverse osmosis is needed to reclaim high quality water for industrial and potable reuse but not for irrigation water which offers significant energy savings but may not lead automatically to lower net costs. While a reclamation process for industrial reuse is economically most promising, irrigation water reclamation processes are not cost effective due to low water prices. Moreover, process operational expenditures may exceed capital expenditures which is important for tender procedures. A significant cost factor is waste management that may exceed energy costs. Water recovery rates could be significantly enhanced through the integration of a softener/biostabilizer unit prior to reverse osmosis. Moreover, the energy consumption of wastewater reclamation processes could be supplied on-site with solar energy. The possibility of designing a ‘fit for multi-purpose’ reclamation process is discussed briefly. This comparative analysis allows for better informed decision making about which reuse type is preferably targeted in a municipal wastewater reuse project from a process design perspective.
AB - The objective of this paper is to compare, under Dutch market conditions, the energy consumption and net costs of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for three water reuse types (i.e. potable, industrial, agricultural reuse). The water source is municipal waste-water treatment plant effluent. Results indicate that the application of reverse osmosis is needed to reclaim high quality water for industrial and potable reuse but not for irrigation water which offers significant energy savings but may not lead automatically to lower net costs. While a reclamation process for industrial reuse is economically most promising, irrigation water reclamation processes are not cost effective due to low water prices. Moreover, process operational expenditures may exceed capital expenditures which is important for tender procedures. A significant cost factor is waste management that may exceed energy costs. Water recovery rates could be significantly enhanced through the integration of a softener/biostabilizer unit prior to reverse osmosis. Moreover, the energy consumption of wastewater reclamation processes could be supplied on-site with solar energy. The possibility of designing a ‘fit for multi-purpose’ reclamation process is discussed briefly. This comparative analysis allows for better informed decision making about which reuse type is preferably targeted in a municipal wastewater reuse project from a process design perspective.
KW - Cost-benefit analysis
KW - Process innovation and optimization
KW - Sustainability
KW - Techno-economic assessment
KW - Water reuse
KW - Water-energy nexus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121276705&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2166/wrd.2021.016
DO - 10.2166/wrd.2021.016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121276705
SN - 2709-6092
VL - 11
SP - 705
EP - 725
JO - Water Reuse
JF - Water Reuse
IS - 4
ER -