Overview and analysis of electric energy consumption indicators in wastewater treatment plants
Wastewater must be treated before discharge into the recipient to such an extent that it meets standards and regulations on wastewater quality, so as not to damage the environment. Depending on the quality of the influent, different technological procedures are applied, which are more or less energy intensive. Also, with the tightening of the conditions related to the quality of the effluent, the application of more energy-intensive purification technologies occurs, and thus the energy consumption at the plants increases. Wastewater treatment plants are among the biggest consumers of energy. In this paper, electric energy consumption at wastewater treatment plants was analyzed depending on different indicators of specific energy consumption, the applied technological process, and the level of purification.