Energy recovery in wastewater treatment plant is one of the ways to
lowering operation costs. For energy conservation in wastewater treatment
plants, it is helpful to outline briefly the main processes which consume most
of the energy required in conventional wastewater treatment facilities. The
research is conducted in Tabriz wastewater treatment plant, at the north west
of Iran which has a design capacity of 1.5 m
$^3$
/s wastewater. The main focus of
the work is on methane production potential of domestic wastewater. During this
study which lasted six months, energy consumer units of plant were reviewed.
Wastewater flow rate (Q), BOD
$_5$
and bCOD of wastewater in three
points – plant influent, primary settling effluent and plant
effluent – were tested. The potential of methane production was also
estimated and converted to electrical energy. The results showed that by
optimization of methane production and energy consumption in different units of
plant, it is possible to provide 97% of plant electrical energy and all of
another form of energy as heat.
