School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Jan 15;45(2):827-32. doi: 10.1021/es103058w. Epub 2010 Dec 9.
The wastewater industry is facing a paradigm shift, learning to view domestic wastewater not as a waste stream which needs to be disposed of but as a resource from which to generate energy. The extent of that resource is a strategically important question. The only previous published measurement of the internal chemical energy of wastewater measured 6.3 kJ/L. It has long been assumed that the energy content in wastewater relates directly to chemical oxygen demand (COD). However there is no standard relationship between COD and energy content. In this study a new methodology of preparing samples for measuring the internal chemical energy in wastewater is developed, and an analysis is made between this and the COD measurements taken. The mixed wastewater examined, using freeze-drying of samples to minimize loss of volatiles, had 16.8 kJ/L, while the domestic wastewater tested had 7.6 kJ/L nearly 20% higher than previously estimated. The size of the resource that wastewater presents is clearly both complex and variable but is likely to be significantly greater than previously thought. A systematic evaluation of the energy contained in wastewaters is warranted.
废水处理行业正面临范式转变，开始将生活污水视为一种可产生能源的资源，而不是需要处理的废物流。该资源的范围是一个具有战略重要性的问题。之前唯一发表的关于废水中内部化学能量的测量值为 6.3 kJ/L。长期以来，人们一直认为废水中的能量含量与化学需氧量（COD）直接相关。然而，COD 与能量含量之间没有标准关系。在这项研究中，开发了一种用于测量废水中内部化学能量的新样品制备方法，并对其与 COD 测量值之间的关系进行了分析。对所检查的混合废水进行了分析，使用冷冻干燥来最小化挥发性物质的损失，结果表明废水中的化学能量为 16.8 kJ/L，而经过测试的生活污水中的化学能量为 7.6 kJ/L，比之前的估计值高出近 20%。废水中所呈现的资源规模显然是复杂且多变的，但很可能比之前认为的要大得多。对废水中所含能量进行系统评估是必要的。
