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Utilization of Hydroturbines in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Journal Article · · Journal of Energy Resources Technology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4042969· OSTI ID:1613460
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3200 N. Cramer Street, Room 775, Milwaukee, WI 53211 e-mail: 
  2. Fellow ASME Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 115 E. Reindl Way, Glendale, WI 53212 e-mail: 

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a significant energy consumer, yet there are several opportunities for implementing on-site power generation systems. Within the treatment process, the high flow rate of effluent is produced and discharged to a nearby water body by gravity. Thus, hydroturbines can be utilized to generate power in such an application due to a difference in elevation and high flow rate. This paper presents a case study of introducing a hydroturbine in a WWTP in Wisconsin and evaluating the power output in addition to determining the energy savings. The WWTP considered in this study has an effluent flow rate of 190 MGD (million gallons per day) and elevation difference of 3 m (10 ft) between the final stage of treatment and the discharge point. Based on the parameters above; hubless rim-drive Kaplan type hydroturbine (RDT) is the optimal choice to be used in such an application. The RDT is designed and optimized by using in-house code. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software is applied to evaluate the performance of the proposed model, and the system is simulated through homer software to validate the results generated by the CFD. The expected savings is estimated to be 1564 MWh/yr.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
EE0007716
OSTI ID:
1613460
Journal Information:
Journal of Energy Resources Technology, Vol. 141, Issue 6; ISSN 0195-0738
Publisher:
ASME
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (11)

Numerical Optimization of Micro Kaplan Hydro Turbine System
  • No authors listed
  • ASME 2016 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting collocated with the ASME 2016 Heat Transfer Summer Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, Volume 1A, Symposia: Turbomachinery Flow Simulation and Optimization; Applications in CFD; Bio-Inspired and Bio-Medical Fluid Mechanics; CFD Verification and Validation; Development and Applications of Immersed Boundary Methods; DNS, LES and Hybrid RANS/LES Methods; Fluid Machinery; Fluid-Structure Interaction and Flow-Induced Noise in Industrial Applications; Flow Applications in Aerospace; Active Fluid Dynamics and Flow Control — Theory, Experiments and Implementation https://doi.org/10.1115/FEDSM2016-7575
December 2016
The Current Trends in Conventional Power Plant Technology on Two Continents From the Perspective of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contractor and Original Equipment Manufacturer March 2016
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Optimization, Numerical, and Experimental Study of a Propeller Pump as Turbine February 2014
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Development of an evaluation method for hydropower energy recovery in wastewater treatment plants: Case studies in Ireland and the UK September 2014
Open water performance comparison between hub-type and hubless rim driven thrusters based on CFD method July 2015
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A review of progress and applications of ship shaft-less rim-driven thrusters November 2017
Engineering Solutions to the Greenhouse Gases Generated by Hydroelectric Plants April 2014

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