Onondaga County Department of Water Enviornment Protection: Process Optimization Saves Energy at Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant

摘要

To improve the efficiency of the plant's wastewater treatment process, engineers at the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro WWTP) in Onondaga County, New York, upgraded several processes beginning in 2004. The process pumps and motors were evaluated by Thomas Devine, an employee of Stearns & Wheler LLC and a Qualified Pump System Specialist. His assessment led to a system-level project that improved the plant's energy eff ciency and validated the pump maintenance program. The project involved retrofitting motors, changing the process operating strategy, and upgrading impellers. These measures significantly improved process efficiency, yielding annual electricity savings of about 2.81 million kWh and natural gas savings of 270 MMBtu. Resulting annual cost savings are $207,500. At a total cost of $233,000, these measures achieved a 13-month simple payback. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided grant funding for the project's feasibility study.