POWERSTEP | Full scale demonstration of energy positive sewage treatment plant concepts towards market penetration

Original description

The municipal wastewater in Europe contains a potential chemical energy of 87,500 GWh per year in its organic fraction, which is equivalent to the output of 12 large power stations. Due to the currently applied technologies and related energy loss at each process step, wastewater treatment in Europe today consumes instead the equivalent of more than 2 power stations. Many operators are thus targeting incremental energy efficiency towards energy neutrality, but recent studies have shown that with novel process schemes using existing technologies, sewage treatment plants could actually become a new source of renewable energy, without compromising the treatment performance.
The project POWERSTEP aims at demonstrating such innovative concepts in first full scale references for each essential process step in order to design energy positive wastewater treatment plants with currently available technologies. The following processes will be demonstrated in 6 full-scale case studies located in 4 European countries: enhanced carbon extraction (pre-filtration), innovative nitrogen removal processes (advanced control, main-stream deammonification, duckweed reactor), power-to-gas (biogas upgrade) with smart grid approach, heat-to-power concepts (thermoelectric recovery in CHP unit, steam rankine cycle, heat storage concepts), and innovative process water treatment (nitritation, membrane ammonia stripping). These individual technology assessments will merge into integrative activities such as treatment scheme modelling and design, global energy and heat management, carbon footprinting, integrated design options, as well as extensive dissemination activities.
POWERSTEP will demonstrate the novel concepts and design treatment schemes of wastewater treatment plants that will be net energy producers, paving the way towards large implementation of such approaches and quick market penetration and supporting the business plans of participating technology providers.

Status

CLOSED

Url

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/641661

Call topic

WATER-1a-2014

Update Date

27-10-2022