Hydropower using Treated Sewage Water

Published on 18 Apr 2022. Written by Vinay Raj

Urban migration is the major reason for the generation of large amounts of sewage water. To overcome that large number of sewage treatment plants are built.

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These sewage treatment plants are located away from the town and are established on the basis of the sewage nature, source of generation, etc…This sewage treatment plants are energy-intensive. They will consume nearly 20% of the total power consumption of the city. This is due to the running of grit chambers, skimming tanks, etc… so it is necessary to find some other procedure that can reduce the use of electricity of sewage treatment plant. It is also good if we produce electricity from sewage treatment plants.

Treated sewage water can be used to produce the hydropower just like hydroelectricity. The treated sewage water is however mixed or pumped into the oceans or rivers or also used to irrigate farmland. Instead of pumping the water out we can create a head that makes the turbines to rotate so the electricity can be generated.

Requirements:

Knowledge of Environmental Engineering.

Knowledge of Fluid Mechanics.

Test the parameters of water (like density, viscosity, etc…)

Project Implementation:

1. Check a suitable area for the installation of the turbine (Kaplan turbine is advisable).
2. Centrifugal Pump for pumping the treated sewage water to attain enough head.
3. Turbines for converting the mechanical energy into electrical energy.
4. Sump for storing the sewage treated water
5. Compare the electricity generated for both normal water and sewage treated water.
6. Report the difference between normal and treated water.

Software Requirements:

• If you need to plot the graph for the values you can use software like MS-Excel, Origin Pro, etc…

Advantages:

• The generation of electricity from sewage treated water is slightly more than normal water. This is due to the increase in the density or viscosity of the water.
• The electricity generated can be used alone by treatment plant saving the conventional energy sources by reducing the electricity charges on the treatment plant making it economical for use.

Conclusion:

This project proves that the electricity can be generated from the sewage treated water that is being released freely into the seas and oceans, also we can generate this electricity without interruption as sewage is generated in tonnes daily in metropolitan cities and making this as renewable energy.

Kit required to develop Hydropower using Treated Sewage Water:

• NA

Technologies you will learn by working on Hydropower using Treated Sewage Water:

• Renewable energy
• Water Pollution
• Electric

Any Questions?