Heat Recovery from Sewage: A Case Study of a Selected Example of a Sewage Treatment Plant in Gorzyce, Poland

The increasing cost of energy and the need for low-carbon solutions have strengthened interest in wastewater as a stable and underutilized source of recoverable heat. This study assesses the technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental benefits of a wastewater heat recovery system based on a case study of the Gorzyce municipal wastewater treatment plant in Poland. Water-to-water heat pump configurations and application scenarios are analyzed together with data-driven forecasting of wastewater outflow using artificial neural networks (MLP and RBF). Operational data from 2025 were used to estimate thermal potential and support system sizing. RBF networks provided more accurate flow forecasts than MLP models, improving reliability of energy recovery planning. Results show that even with a 1 K cooling depth, the annual heat recovery potential reaches about 1.16 GWh. The proposed heat pump system achieved the COP values of 3.0–3.4 and seasonal COP around 3.2, confirming high technical performance supported by stable wastewater temperatures. The recovered heat can fully cover the facility’s heating demand, demonstrating clear technical feasibility. The economic analysis indicates annual savings of about EUR 2310 compared to gas heating, with a simple payback period of roughly 13 years, reduced to 7–8 years when combined with on-site photovoltaics. Environmental benefits include CO₂ emission reductions of about 5.5 tones per year. Overall, wastewater heat recovery supported by predictive modeling and renewable electricity is a practical, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution for municipal infrastructure.