Heat Recovery from Wastewater Treatment Plants to Supply Existing Buildings with Low-Carbon Heat via District Heating

Project Description

Wastewater treatment plants have surplus heat which they do not use and is currently discarded. This heat could be recovered and used to heat buildings instead of using gas and therefore, reduce the carbon emissions. In this project, a ‘pilot study’ will be carried out to quantify the potential heat recovery of a specific WWTP, Castletroy WWTP, and furthermore, a design will be created to outline how this heat can be delivered to nearby buildings on the University of Limerick campus. The results will indicate how much carbon can be saved and at what cost when WWTPs are used as a low-carbon heat source. Furthermore, the analysis carried out at this specific WWTP will be used to quantify the heat recovery potential from WWTPs across Ireland to inform national policymakers of the potential that exists.