Renewable Energy from Wastewater

Full Title

Renewable energy from wastewater: a synthesis of the agricultural, energy, and transportation sectors and environmental tradeoffs

Abstract

Energy sustainability is a goal of many cities, states, and countries. Thirty-seven U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have implemented renewable portfolio standards to promote the use of renewable energy (Database of State   Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, 2013). Renewable energy sources include: wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, landfill gas, and ocean. Each source has its own environmental and socio-economic advantages and disadvantages. Understanding the environmental and economic implications of greater reliance on renewable energy requires a synthesis of the energy system, its inputs, outputs, and the environmental consequences.

The goal of the proposed research is to analyze the interconnected wastewater, energy, transportation, retail fertilizer, and agricultural markets to improve our understanding of the socio-economic and environmental consequences of waste-to-energy systems and to help provide actionable insights into how firms and public agencies in this sector can improve decision-making.

Project Type
Team Synthesis Project
Date
2013
Principal Investigators
Steven Gabriel, University of Maryland
Elisabeth Gilmore, Clark University
Participants
Chalida U-tapao
Seksun Moryadee, University of Maryland
Aaron Adalja
Brittany Ryan, University of Maryland
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