Modelling greenhouse gas emissions from biological wastewater treatment by GPS-X: The full-scale case study of Corleone (Italy)

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can affect climate change and must be measured and reduced. Mathematical modelling is an attractive solution to get a tool for GHG mitigation. However, although many efforts have been made to create reliable tools that can simulate “sustainable” full-scale WWTP operation, these studies are not considered complete enough to include GHG emissions and energy consumption of biological processes under long-term dynamic conditions. In this study, activated sludge model no. 1 (ASM1) was modified to model nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions with a plant-wide modelling approach. The model is novel compared to the state of the art since it includes three steps denitrification, all N₂O production pathways and its stripping in an ASM1. The model has been calibrated and validated through long-term water quality and short-term N₂O emissions data collected from Corleone (Italy) WWTP. Different dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and return sludge (RAS) ratios were tested with dynamic simulations to optimise the full-scale WWTP. The scenarios have been compared synergistically with effluent quality, direct GHG emissions, and energy footprint by the water-energy‑carbon coupling index (WECCI). This modelling study is novel as it fully covers long-term calibration/validation of the model with N₂O measurements and tests the dynamic optimisation. Decision-makers and operators can use this new model to optimise GHG emissions and treatment costs.