The process simulation performed in the present study aimed at investigating energetically self-sufficient wastewater treatment plant of 500,000 population equivalents. To implement this, three different scenarios were evaluated using computational tools named GPS-X® and SuperPro®. They were designed based on municipal wastes recovery to energy generation and its utilisation within the facility. An anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process for biological treatment of wastewater was considered and mesophilic anaerobic digestion at different scenarios (1) primary sludge (PS) with waste activated sludge (WAS), (2) PS with thermally hydrolysed WAS, and (3) PS with WAS and organic fractions derived from municipal solid waste. The results from scenario 1 and scenario 2 showed only enough thermal energy to meet their demand (they reach only 44 and 52% of electrical self-sufficiency, respectively), while positive net thermal and electrical energy result in scenario 3 from codigestion of sewage sludge and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. The main limitation of tools used is their lack of sensitivity to economies of scale and their dependence on real data used for process design to obtain more accurate results.

中文翻译：

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城市垃圾厌氧消化处理污水处理厂的能量整合：工艺设计与仿真研究

在本研究中进行的过程模拟旨在调查能源自给自足的50万人口当量的污水处理厂。为了实现这一目标，使用名为GPS-X®和SuperPro®的计算工具评估了三种不同的情况。这些废物的设计是基于市政废物回收利用，以产生能量并在设施内进行利用。考虑了用于废水生物处理的厌氧/缺氧/有氧工艺，并在不同情况下进行了中温厌氧消化（1）含废物活性污泥（WAS）的初级污泥（PS），（2）带热水解WAS的PS以及（3） PS与WAS和源自城市固体废物的有机馏分。方案1和方案2的结果表明，只有足够的热能满足其需求（分别仅达到电力自给自足的44％和52％），而方案3中的正净热能和电能来自污水污泥的共消化。以及城市固体废物的有机部分。使用的工具的主要局限性是它们对规模经济缺乏敏感性，并且依赖于用于过程设计的真实数据以获得更准确的结果。