Interview P. Vale and C. Makropoulos - The future of wastewater treatment plant energy management

“UK utility Severn Trent’s Spernal site has become a testbed to evaluate a range of innovative technologies. Anaerobic processes are being modified to deliver lower energy consumption in colder, more variable climates. The four-year NextGen project brings together a partnership of 30 organizations to demonstration solutions for water in the circular economy.
The future of wastewater treatment involves bubbles, just less of them, according to Peter Vale. As the technical lead for innovation at UK utility, Severn Trent (ST), he has spent much of his career looking at extending the traditional technique of activated sludge that involves a lot of bubbles. “Despite its widespread adoption, you can’t get away from the fact that is it energy-intensive,” he said, despite praising the technology‘s flexibility.”

(Citation: Ruijgers, J.J. – Interview P. Vale and C. Makropoulos – The future of wastewater treatment plant energy management – www.wwdmag.com (2021)30 March)