POTWs

Pollution Prevention & Energy Efficiency in POTWs

MnTAP can assist your business customers with pollution prevention at their facilities and we can assist Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) directly with portions of their phosphorus and mercury management plans. While there are few opportunities for pollution prevention and wastewater loading at the treatment plant itself, wastewater customers, especially industry, can look for upstream opportunities to reduce wastewater loading, benefitting not only the business, but the POTW and the city. When businesses reduce water consumption and loading, they may lower their water and sewer charges, strength charges, reduce their product losses, and generally make their operations more efficient. POTWs and cities may incrementally reduce operating costs and increase the portion of remaining unused plant capacity.

MnTAP has a long history of partnering with POTWs and industry to reduce wastewater loading and increase energy efficiency. MnTAP is currently leading a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to assist treatment plants assess energy use and identify reduction opportunities to reduce operating costs. In addition, MnTAP has sponsored several intern projects that implemented energy conservation improvements and led a 2011-2013 project that identified conservation measures ranging from right-sizing blowers and equipment to dissolved oxygen (DO) control to optimizing disinfection practices, and demonstrated the benefits of benchmarking plant energy.

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News

  • Energy Efficiency Project Starts MnTAP is working with the Minnesota Dept. of Commerce’s Division of Energy Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on a project to increase energy efficiency (E2) in Minnesota municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and scope opportunities for biogas-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) installations.