City of Olney
Olney, Illinois, Illinois
Intern: Derek Perry
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
The city of Olney has a population of 8,600 and is the county seat of Richland
County. The city covers 5.8 square miles.
The intern project focused on identifying energy efficiency opportunities
at the city’s wastewater treatment plant and water plant.
Results:
The intern made the following recommendations:
- Retrofit the aeration system at the wastewater treatment plant with
fine bubble diffusers. This system has the potential to save $58,000 a year,
with a simple payback period of 1.9 years. CO2 emissions would be reduced
by 596 tons per year.
- Consider applying for grants to collect biogas produced
from the anaerobic digester at the wastewater treatment plant. This biogas
could be used to supplement a portion of natural gas utilized in the facility
boilers. This would reduce energy costs by approximately $6,600 a year and
reduce CO2 emissions by 40 tons a year.
- Install variable speed drives
(VSD) on two motors at the water treatment plant to save energy. This would
also prevent throttling and bypassing of the pumped water. One motor is 100
hp and the other is 150 hp. The total yearly savings would be over $26,000
using VSDs, and the payback period would be less than 6 months. CO2 emissions
would be reduced by 280 tons per year.
|
