Connecting AnMBR and SOFC for Blackwater Treatment and Energy Production: Influence of the AnMBR pH on the SOFC Operational Strategy

Driven by the increasing demand for waste reduction and green energy production, an integrated system which combines an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) was proposed in this research project for blackwater treatment and energy production. The potentials of using an AnMBR for wastewater treatment and biogas...

Coupling high-rate activated sludge process with aerobic granular sludge process for sustainable municipal wastewater treatment

Achieving a neutral/positive energy balance without compromising discharge standards is one of the main goals of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in terms of sustainability. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology promises high treatment performance with low energy and footprint requirement. In this study, high-rate activated sludge (HRAS...

Thermal Energy Recovery from Drinking Water Distribution Systems: A study into microbial water quality and potential energy

Drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) are intended to supply hygienically safe and biostable water for human consumption. To supply aesthetically pleasant drinking water at the customers tap, water treatment and supply requires energy for production and distribution purposes (e.g. overall between 0.47 kWh/m³ in the Netherlands)....

Primary and A-sludge treatment by anaerobic membrane bioreactors in view of energy-positive wastewater treatment plants

Energy-rich sludge can be obtained from primary clarifiers preceding biological reactors. Alternatively, the incoming wastewater can be sent to a very-high-loaded activated sludge system, i.e., a so-called A-stage. However, the effects of applying an A-stage instead of a primary clarifier, on the subsequent sludge digestion for long-term...

Making Waves: A sea change in treating wastewater – Why thermodynamics supports resource recovery and recycling

Entropy is a concept defined by the second law of thermodynamics. Applying this concept to the world we live in, entropy production must be minimized and negentropy (negative entropy production) should be accelerated, in order to produce a healthy and stable ecological system. The present wastewater treatment, however, contributes to entropy...

Analysis of a Wind Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination System: Experimental Study Using a Pressure Exchanger Energy Recovery Device

With a fast growing world population, the lack of fresh water is one of the world’s biggest future concerns. Water stress can lead to conflicts, holds back economic growth and has a major impact on human health. Nowadays, more and more countries that lack fresh water sources are using the saline water from the oceans and desalinate it to produce...

Thermal Energy Recovery from Wastewater at the TU Delft Campus

In order to reduce the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses, sustainable development is gaining in importance in the recent years. This is also the case for TU Delft. The sustainable advancement requires renewable energy sources that do not require fossil fuels. The wastewater flow is currently not utilised as a renewable energy source...

Ceramic Ultra- and Nanofiltration for Municipal Wastewater Reuse

During the last decade, water reuse has been widely recognized in many regions of the world. Fouling of ceramic membranes, especially hydraulically irreversible fouling, is a critical aspect affecting the operational cost and energy consumption in water treatment plants. In addition, the reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, that are often used for...

Design of an Energy Recovery Concept for a Small-scale Renewable-driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination System

The desalination industry has grown exponentially the last four decades as countries seek solutions to water scarcity caused by population growth, climate change, pollution and industrial development. All source water types included, reverse osmosis is the prevalent desalination process, accounting for more than half of the global capacity. The...