AquaTwin Sewer 4.0 Powers State of the Art Distributed Hydrodynamic Modeling of Thermal Energy Balance in Sewer Systems

Key Highlights

One of the key areas for potential energy saving in existing sewer systems is waste heat recovery, i.e., pulling thermal energy from wastewater instead of burning natural gas. Wastewater collection systems contain relatively large amounts of thermal energy. This thermal energy offers an odorless, low carbon option for indoor heating, similar to other geothermal exchange systems. Recovering this thermal energy diversifies our nation’s renewable energy options while also boosting our clean energy economy. It also makes it possible to move towards a more self-sufficient model by reducing our dependence on external energy sources. New version automatically:

• Calculates wastewater temperature dynamics in the sewer network taking into account the interaction between bulk liquid (wastewater or stormwater), sewer headspace, pipe wall and the surrounding soil. Wastewater temperatures are particularly sensitive to soil and headspace temperature, and headspace humidity.
• Computes the thermal energy balance (how much energy is transferred into or out of the wastewater system).
• Models any complex sewer network including any combination of full and partially full pipes as well as closed conduits and open channels.
• Lets users evaluate the impact/magnitude of heat recovery on water temperature as well as the optimal placement of heat collection equipment.
• Allows users to explore the use of treated sewer effluent to biodiverse areas, i.e. putting sewer effluent to a societally positive use after treatment. The problem is the treated effluent temperature is too high and would damage or kill the plants they are trying to water.

Aquanuity, Inc., the leader in strategy-led simulation-powered water infrastructure digital twin software, continues to innovate and quickly expand upon its best-in-class products and platform with the release of AquaTwin Sewer Generation V4.0 for ArcGIS Pro. The new version provides new state-of-the-art thermal-hydraulic analyses in wastewater and stormwater sewer networks. This functionality is critical to analyze the utilization of the sewer network as an energy source and further substantiates the company’s strategic commitment to breakthrough innovation for its customers.

AquaTwin Sewer’s new state of the art sewer heat balance model is a powerful and accurate thermal-hydrodynamic simulation tool that can be effectively used by water utilities to estimate the heat content and recoverable heat (thermal energy) and their dynamics from wastewater and stormwater sewer networks. It accurately simulates the temporal and spatial distribution of temperature in the sewer networks during dry and wet weather conditions and under varying thermal loading conditions, in addition to the hydrodynamic processes. Such mission-critical capabilities will assist water utilities in making informed decisions about the placement of heat/energy recovery devices, improving the control and efficiency of wastewater resource recovery facilities, and predicting biological activities such as those related to hydrogen sulfide formation.

“AquaTwin Sewer V4 marks another milestone in GIS-centric wastewater and stormwater sewer network modeling,” said Paul Boulos, Chairman and CEO of Aquanuity. “This latest release extends the capabilities of basic hydraulic and hydrologic modeling to enable thermal-hydraulic simulations of sewer networks. Among their many benefits, such capabilities will allow sewer utilities to monetize the thermal energy in their sewer systems and optimize these systems for the reuse of that heat. We continue to push the technology curve to make it better, faster, easier for utilities to build, operate, manage, and sustain high-performing, highly efficient and resilient sewer infrastructure systems for success.”

About Aquanuity

Aquanuity is an engineering technology company focused on helping the world’s water infrastructure work better. We blend science and creativity to create cutting-edge innovations that play a critical role in advancing a sustainable future. Our innovative software fundamentally changes the way water utilities and engineering firms can use technology to create and manage safe, efficient, reliable, sustainable, resilient and smarter water infrastructure and build better communities.