“Conventional WWTPs are high energy consuming and nutrients are not being recovered. LIFE NECOVERY project purpose is providing solutions to invert this fact”

CONTEXT

Currently, WWTP flowsheets are based on aerobic systems which use high energy inputs to generate low grade sludge and low levels of immobilized nutrients and so the inherent value of wastewater is largely lost. Currently, the most common treatment in use in WWTPs is the conventional activated sludge system (CAS) which is energy consuming. Over the last years, this system has grown more complex and also intrinsically more energy intensive. In addition, the more recent developments towards nitrogen removal as well as the desire to minimize the excess sludge production have led to systems which employ more extended aeration.

From the energy consumption and nutrients recovery point of view, the following consequences have been detected:

– It requires more aeration and thus more energy consumption.
– It leads to the creation of less and worse digestible sludge, which leads to an unfavorable  energy recovery.
– In terms of nutrients recovery in the main line, WWTPs are mainly focused on their  removal and not on recovering them.

According to that, there is a necessity to find solutions and provide strategies and technologies to be able to change the current concept of WWTPs from being energy consumers to resource recovery sites. LIFE NECOVERY project is working in this direction in order to provide solutions to this technological and environmental challenge.