Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Wastewater treatment is an immensely important measure in order to reduce the stress that humans pose on their surrounding environment. As population grows and the detrimental effects of insufficient treatment becomes better understood, the demands on these processes increase. For Sweden, the Baltic Sea Action Plan manifest these increasing expectations, such as increasing demands on emission reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus. The present paper has sought to investigate the potential of hydroponic wastewater treatment plants as a technological step to meet set targets. A cost benefit analysis was performed using data from Fors wastewater treatment plant in Haninge in Sweden. Based on valuation studies, and reports from hydroponic wastewater treatment plants in Sweden and abroad, some conclusions were derived. The results show a positive net present value in favour of a hydroponic treatment plant in the base- and best case scenarios, but a negative in the worst case scenario. The sensitivity analysis shows that the results are sensitive to the quantity and valuation of emission of phosphorus and nitrogen. These results could with some adjustments be generalized to other municipalities and wastewater treatment plants in Sweden.