College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China.
Yangtze Ecology and Environment Co., Ltd., Wuhan 430062, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 22;20(1):140. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010140.
To reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in China, it is pivotal to explore low-carbon wastewater treatment processes and carbon-neutral wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study investigated the Beijing Gaobeidian WWTP to explore the current energy consumption and carbon emission status of representative WWTPs in China. Furthermore, it explored a possible low-carbon operating model. Results show that the current total energy consumption of Gaobeidian WWTP is 280,717 MWh/y, while its energy recovery is 268,788 MWh/y. As a result, the energy neutralization ratio is 95.8%, and the plant is close to reaching energy neutrality. The carbon emission of this plant is 446,468 t/y. However, it reduced its carbon emissions by 252,994 t/y and reached only 56.7% of carbon neutrality. Although the plant almost reached energy neutrality, it has a long way to go before reaching carbon neutrality. It was found that a subsequent increase in the recovery of residual heat from secondary effluent can increase the energy and carbon neutralization ratio to 523.1% and 219.0%, respectively, meaning that the WWTP can become a power production unit and a carbon sink. This study can provide a reference for exploring efficient energy use and reaching carbon neutrality for domestic WWTPs.
为了减少中国的碳排放并实现碳中和，探索低碳污水处理工艺和碳中和污水处理厂（WWTP）至关重要。本研究调查了北京高碑店污水处理厂，以探讨中国代表性 WWTP 的当前能源消耗和碳排放状况。此外，还探讨了一种可能的低碳运行模式。结果表明，高碑店污水处理厂目前的总能耗为 280,717 MWh/y，而其能源回收量为 268,788 MWh/y。因此，能源中和率为 95.8%，该工厂接近实现能源中和。该厂的碳排放为 446,468 t/y。然而，它减少了 252,994 t/y 的碳排放，仅达到 56.7%的碳中和。尽管该工厂几乎达到了能源中和，但要实现碳中和还有很长的路要走。研究发现，随后增加二级出水的余热回收，可以将能源和碳中和率分别提高到 523.1%和 219.0%，这意味着 WWTP 可以成为一个发电单元和碳汇。本研究可为探索国内 WWTP 高效利用能源和实现碳中和提供参考。
