TY - JOUR AU - Covas, Dídia AB - This paper presents and discusses the application of a novel energy balance scheme for assessing energy efficiency in wastewater systems. The energy balance is demonstrated with a Portuguese real-life case study, using mathematical modelling to estimate the different energy components and to compute two energy efficiency indices. The total inflow intrinsic energy can represent a significant amount (>95%) of the total energy used in systems mainly composed of gravity sewers. The total input energy is significantly (four-times) higher in the wet season than in the dry season, mostly due to undue inflows (e.g., direct rainfall and infiltration). The potential for energy recovery strongly depends on the available head and flow rate at the delivery point, being 0.01 kWh/m3 in the current case, with a project payback period of 4 years. The energy balance components and the respective energy efficiency indices strongly depend on the considered reference elevation. Thus, a unique regional reference elevation is recommended in the calculations. TI - Energy Balance in Wastewater Systems with Energy Recovery: A Portuguese Case Study JF - Infrastructures DO - 10.3390/infrastructures6100141 DA - 2021-10-07 UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/multidisciplinary-digital-publishing-institute/energy-balance-in-wastewater-systems-with-energy-recovery-a-portuguese-rqSv0y05nN SP - 141 VL - 6 IS - 10 DP - DeepDyve ER -