Municipal wastewater treatment: Are UASB + microalgal open ponds an option?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2025-03-10Keywords:
Costs of wastewater treatment plants, treated water reuse, UASB Reactor, Mexican environmental standards, microalgae lagoons, municipal wastewater treatmentAbstract
The technical and economic advantages of municipal wastewater treatment trains based on lagoons with microalgae, after treatment with UASB-type anaerobic reactors, are highlighted in comparison with the conventional technologies most used in the Mexican municipal area. Microalgae absorb inorganic compounds (macro and micronutrients) and reduce the inorganic and organic load present in wastewater with the consequent generation of biomass. This is the main advantage of this technology over the other conventional ones mostly used in the Mexican municipal sphere. The waste water treatment plant (WWTP) based on lagoons with microalgae ensures the non-emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and is the only one that has the potential for the valorization of byproducts in the market through the harvesting and processing of microalgae, which , in an appropriate regional scope, where these byproducts can be commercialized, they can represent additional income for the operational support of the WWTP, being able to reach or exceed the low level of operating cost of conventional lagoon systems. The WWTP using a UASB reactor and lagoons with microalgae practically have the same investment cost as those plants with UASB and conventional lagoons. On the other hand, the investment cost of conventional lagoons without a UASB reactor is higher than that of lagoons with microalgae. Those municipalities that have conventional lagoons are candidates to convert or rehabilitate their WWTPs into lagoon systems with microalgae where the existing infrastructure would be fully utilized, which leads to a reduction in the investment cost compared to a new installation.
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