Clean energy helps environmentally friendly wastewater treatment

As an important part of urban infrastructure, sewage treatment plays a vital role in the global green development in terms of its green transformation and sustainable development. As a clean and renewable form of energy, photovoltaic power generation can not only reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels, but also significantly reduce carbon emissions in the sewage treatment process. Sewage treatment and photovoltaic technology have achieved self-sufficiency and efficient utilization of clean energy, injecting new impetus into the green transformation and sustainable development of the water industry.

Ⅰ.Basic principles and composition of photovoltaic power generation system

Photovoltaic power generation systems are generally composed of photovoltaic cell modules, controllers, inverters and battery packs.

1.Photovoltaic cell module

The photovoltaic cell module is the core of the photovoltaic power generation system. It converts sunlight energy directly into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. When sunlight shines on the P-N junction on the semiconductor material (such as silicon), electron-hole pairs are formed, which separate under the action of the electric field and generate current. Depending on the material, photovoltaic cell modules are divided into three types: single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon and thin film solar cells.

Fig.1 Single crystal silicon solar cell

Fig.2 Polycrystalline silicon solar cell

2.Controllers

The controller is mainly used to control the charging and discharging of batteries in photovoltaic power generation systems, so that the system can have an optimized power output under any climate, temperature and sunshine conditions. The types of photovoltaic controllers can be mainly divided into series type, parallel type, PWM modulation type, intelligent type and maximum power tracking type controllers.

3.Inverter

Since photovoltaic cell modules and battery packs output DC power, and most loads in our daily life and water treatment industry are AC loads, the inverter is also an indispensable component in the photovoltaic power generation system.

4.Battery packs

As energy storage devices, battery packs provide continuous power supply when light conditions are poor. They store excess power during the day for use at night or other times when there is no light, ensuring the stability and reliability of the system.

Ⅱ.Application advantages of photovoltaic power generation system in sewage treatment industry

1.Excellent lighting conditions

Wastewater treatment plants are usually located in open areas with low-rise buildings around them and less obstruction, which provides an ideal environment for installing photovoltaic systems.

2.Large-area roof resources

Large structures such as natural gas reaction tanks and secondary sedimentation tanks provide a wide installation space without occupying additional land resources and without changing the land use or building structure.

3.Improving process effects

Reasonable photovoltaic layout helps reduce water evaporation, improve local climate conditions, and promote microbial activity, thereby improving sewage treatment efficiency.

4.Stable and large electricity demand

The load characteristics of the sewage treatment plant are stable, which facilitates the design and integration of the photovoltaic power generation system and ensures the effective use of electricity.

5.On-site consumption of electricity

The high self-generation and self-use ratio allows the generated electricity to be directly consumed by the sewage treatment plant, reducing the phenomenon of abandoned light and improving energy utilization.

Ⅲ.Conclusion

The wastewater treatment industry plus photovoltaic technology is a new, efficient and green way of energy utilization. It combines water facilities with photovoltaic technology to achieve self-sufficiency and efficient use of clean energy. The integration and application of this technical model not only promotes the intelligent and green transformation of wastewater facilities, but also injects new impetus into the green transformation and sustainable development of the wastewater industry.