Energy efficiency evaluation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) based on data envelopment analysis

Abstract The energy use intensity of wastewater treatment facilities has been increasing in recent decades in China. In this paper, data envelopment analysis is used to evaluate the energy efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China. In the DEA model, the six input indicators were load rate, design scale, unit electricity consumption, sludge generation, actual treatment volume and accumulated electricity consumption, and the six outputs were COD, BOD, SS, NH3-N, TN and TP pollutant removals per amount of electricity consumption. A total of 4100 plants were assessed in China in 2018. The relative efficiencies of 14 plants at 1.0, with an average electricity consumption of 0.091 kWh/m3 compared to the national average consumption of 0.38 kWh/m3, served as a benchmark for the remaining inefficient plants. According to the Malmquist index results, during 2014–2018, on average, 40.54% of the WWTPs experienced productivity improvements, 71.24% of the plants increased their technical efficiency relative to the frontier, and 27.21% of the plants showed progress on the production frontier. Western areas in China consume a large proportion of renewable energy with higher energy efficiency levels, while central and eastern areas had lower energy efficiency trends and high pollutant emissions levels. The oxidation pond method has the highest comprehensive technical efficiency of 0.446, nearly eight times the average efficiency level. It is suggested that wastewater treatment industries should not only consider technical efficiency increases but also match their pollutant burdens and implementation of discharge standards with energy-saving targets.