Overview of Material and Energy Flows in German Wastewater Infrastructures

Today, Germany is moving to more sustainable energy systems. This challenges also the wastewater sector to improve energy balances of infrastructures. Besides energy efficiency, also reuse of resources from wastewater offers large energy potentials. While Germany represents a best practice example for wastewater management within the technical paradigm, there are large opportunities for energetic reuse of wastewater resources, which are not yet fully exploited. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of material and energy flows in wastewater infrastructures in Germany today, and to present two eco-innovations for improved energy balances. Making full use of synergies between energy and (waste)water infrastructures is an important feature of
sustainable cities of tomorrow.

The transition to more sustainable energy systems also challenges the wastewater sector to improve energy balances of infrastructures. Besides energy efficiency, also reuse of resources from wastewater offers large potentials to improve energy balances. Finding starting points for improvement requires a holistic picture of the current situation of the energy balance. Here, we shortly present the findings of an earlier study by the authors: Extended Energy Balance of the Urban Water Chain (UWC) in Germany. This extended energy balance includes both: direct energy consumption and generation at the different stages of UWC, as well as an estimate of the internal energy potentials of flow streams, and the proportion which is currently reused resp. not reused. The internal energy potentials include the chemical energy of Carbon C, the grey energy of nutrients N and P and the thermal energy stored in wastewater. The system boundaries for analysis 'from source to environmentâ€ included:

- the extraction, treatment and distribution of drinking water,

- energy use for hot water preparation in households

- the transport and treatment of wastewater and the use of biogas from anaerobic digestion,

- the transport, processing and end use of stabilized sludge generated during wastewater treatment.

Copyright:	© DIV Deutscher Industrieverlag GmbH / Vulkan-Verlag GmbH
Quelle:	GWF International 2012 (September 2012)
Seiten:	9
Preis:	€ 9,00
Autor:	Eve Menger-Krug Dr.-Ing. Jutta Niederste-Hollenberg Dr.-Ing. Thomas Hillenbrand Dr.-Ing. Harald Hiessl

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