62 DECEMBER 2021 WorldWide Drilling Resource® RENEW - SUBSCRIBE NOW! heat to an intermediate circuit and then to a heat pump, or the sewer pipes are encompassed by loops containing a heat transfer medium which moves the heat to the heat pump. Urban wastewater treatment plants present an opportunity in many places to take advantage of this valuable wastewater energy recovery. In Europe, where district heating is well established in many cities and demonstrator projects are underway, SHR is probably more likely to become widespread. The UK is also opening the door to this possibility. Scottish Water Horizons facilitated the installation of the first heat from wastewater scheme in the UK at Borders College, Galashiels, providing the vast majority of the annual heating and hot water demand on the campus. Thames Water and Kingston upon Thames plan to recover heat energy from about a third of the final effluent from the Hogsmill Sewage Treatment Works to provide a low-carbon energy source to some 2000 homes. They plan to expand the heating network to include additional public and commercial buildings once the system is installed. In King County, Washington, United States, the wastewater utility is offering SHR to private commercial property owners and developers who wish to recover heat energy from their sewer pipes for the purpose of heating or cooling their buildings. It may just be that, in the near future, we stop regarding what we flush or drain as wastewater, instead coming to see it as a valuable resource reducing carbon emissions and providing us with reliable, sustainable energy. Wastewater Energy Recovery Flow Diagram. Image courtesy of the State of Massachusetts. Too Valuable to Flush continued from page 60 Article Ideas? Why hold onto them? Send them our way, and let the entire WORLD enjoy them. bonnie@worldwidedrillingresource.com
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