Hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge coupled with anaerobic digestion: Integrated approach for sludge management and energy recycling

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 113353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubia Z. Gaur ◽  
Osama Khoury ◽  
Matat Zohar ◽  
Elena Poverenov ◽  
Ran Darzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Sludge Management

Gasification as an optimum alternative for the sludge management

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Peregrina ◽  
J. M. Audic ◽  
P. Dauthuille
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Combined Heat And Power ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Fluidised Bed ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Gas Cleaning ◽  
Cleaning System

Assimilate sludge to a fuel is not new. Sludge incineration and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engines powered with sludge-derived anaerobic digestion gas (ADG) are operations widely used. However, they have a room of improvement to reach simultaneously a positive net power generation and a significant level of waste reduction and stabilization. Gasification has been used in other realms for the conversion of any negative-value carbon-based materials, that would otherwise be disposed as waste, to a gaseous product with a usable heating value for power generation . In fact, the produced gas, the so-called synthetic gas (or syngas), could be suitable for combined heat and power motors. Within this framework gasification could be seen as an optimum alternative for the sludge management that would allow the highest waste reduction yield (similar to incineration) with a high power generation. Although gasification remains a promising route for sewage sludge valorisation, campaigns of measurements show that is not a simple operation and there are still several technical issues to resolve before that gasification was considered to be fully applied in the sludge management. Fluidised bed was chosen by certain technology developers because it is an easy and well known process for solid combustion, and very suitable for non-conventional fuels. However, our tests showed a poor reliable process for gasification of sludge giving a low quality gas production with a significant amount of tars to be treated. The cleaning system that was proposed shows a very limited removal performance and difficulties to be operated. Within the sizes of more common WWTP, an alternative solution to the fluidised bed reactor would be the downdraft bed gasifier that was also audited. Most relevant data of this audit suggest that the technology is more adapted to the idea of sludge gasification presented in the beginning of this paper where a maximum waste reduction is achieved with a great electricity generation thanks to the use of a “good” quality syngas in a CHP engine. Audit show also that there is still some work to do in order to push sludge gasification to a more industrial stage. Regardless what solution would be preferred, the resulting gasification system would involve a more complex scenario compared to Anaerobic Digestion and Incineration, characterised by a thermal dryer and gasifier with a complete gas cleaning system. At the end, economics, reliability and mass and energy yields should be carefully analysed in order to set the place that gasification would play in the forthcoming processing of sewage sludge.

Hydrothermal Carbonization—A Sustainable Approach to Deal with the Challenges in Sewage Sludge Management

2020 ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Shettigondahalli Ekanthalu ◽  
Gert Morscheck ◽  
Satyanarayana Narra ◽  
Michael Nelles
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Sewage Sludge Management

Enhanced adsorption of orthophosphate and copper onto hydrochar derived from sewage sludge by KOH activation

RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (104) ◽  
pp. 101827-101834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Spataru ◽  
Rohan Jain ◽  
Jae Wook Chung ◽  
Gabriel Gerner ◽  
Rolf Krebs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Koh Activation ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Sewage Sludge Management ◽  
Enhanced Adsorption

Hydrochar, produced by hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge, adsorbs orthophosphate to improve effluent quality, recover & reutilize phosphorous and positively impact sewage sludge management.

scholarly journals Coupling Hydrothermal Carbonization with Anaerobic Digestion for Sewage Sludge Treatment: Influence of HTC Liquor and Hydrochar on Biomethane Production

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 6262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Ferrentino ◽  
Fabio Merzari ◽  
Luca Fiori ◽  
Gianni Andreottola
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Digested Sludge ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Sewage Sludge Treatment ◽  
Biomethane Production

The present study addresses the coupling of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) with anaerobic digestion (AD) in wastewater treatment plants. The improvement in biomethane production due to the recycling back to the anaerobic digester of HTC liquor and hydrochar generated from digested sludge is investigated and proved. Mixtures of different compositions of HTC liquor and hydrochar, as well as individual substrates, were tested. The biomethane yield reached 102 ± 3 mL CH4 g−1 COD when the HTC liquor was cycled back to the AD and treated together with primary and secondary sludge. Thus, the biomethane production was almost doubled compared to that of the AD of primary and secondary sludge (55 ± 20 mL CH4 g−1 COD). The benefit is even more significant when both the HTC liquor and the hydrochar were fed to the AD of primary and secondary sludge. The biomethane yield increased up to 187 ± 18 mL CH4 g−1 COD when 45% of hydrochar, with respect to the total feedstock, was added. These results highlight the improvement that the HTC process can bring to AD, enhancing biomethane production and promoting a sustainable solution for the treatment of the HTC liquor and possibly the hydrochar itself.

scholarly journals Investigation of Anaerobic Digestion of the Aqueous Phase from Hydrothermal Carbonization of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste

Biomass ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Kameron J. Adams ◽  
Ben Stuart ◽  
Sandeep Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Aqueous Phase ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anaerobic Biodegradability

In 2017, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that Americans generated over 268 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). The majority (52%) of this waste ends up in landfills, which are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions. Improvements in terms of waste management and energy production could be solved by integrating MSW processing with hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and anaerobic digestion (AD) for converting organic carbon of MSW to fuels. The objectives of this study were to (a) investigate HTC experiments at varying temperatures and residence times (b) evaluate aqueous phase and solids properties, and (c) perform AD bench scale bottle test on the aqueous phase. A mixture of different feedstock representing MSW was used. HTC at 280 °C and 10 min yielded the highest total organic carbon (TOC) of 8.16 g/L with biogas yields of 222 mL biogas/g TOC. Results showed that AD of the aqueous phase from a mixed MSW feedstock is feasible. The integrated approach shows organic carbon recovery of 58% (hydrochar and biogas). This study is the first of its kind to investigate varying temperature and times for a heterogeneous feedstock (mixed MSW), and specifically evaluating HTC MSW aqueous phase anaerobic biodegradability.

scholarly journals An environmental LCA of alternative scenarios of urban sewage sludge treatment and disposal

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Tarantini ◽  
Patrizia Buttol ◽  
Lorenzo Maiorino
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Urban Sewage ◽  
Sewage Sludge Treatment ◽  
Urban Sewage Sludge ◽  
Treatment And Disposal

The majority of pollutants that affect wastewater are concentrated by treatment processes in sludge; it is therefore critical to have a suitable evaluation methodology of sludge management options to analyze if pollution is redirected from water to other media, such as air and soil. Life cycle assessment is one of the most widely known and internationally accepted methodologies to compare environmental impacts of processes and systems and to evaluate their sustainability in the entire life cycle. In this study the methodology was applied to assess and compare three scenarios of urban sewage sludge treatment and disposal: sludge anaerobic digestion followed by dedicated incineration, sludge incineration without previous digestion, and sludge anaerobic digestion followed by composting. The potential benefits of spreading the compost to soil were not included in the system boundaries even if, due to its nutrients contents and soil improving features, compost could partially replace the use of commercial products. The study was aimed at finding out the environmental critical points of the treatment alternatives selected and at providing a technical and scientific contribution for further debates with national and local authorities on the environmental optimization of sewage sludge management. Life cycle assessment results confirmed the major contribution of electricity and methane consumption on several environmental impact categories. Incineration contributes more than sludge composting to almost all categories, although the heavy metals content of urban wastewater sludge raises substantial concerns when composted sludge is spread to soil. In this paper the models adopted, the hypotheses assumed and the main findings of the study are presented and discussed. .

Sludge minimization by disintegration at different wastewater treatment plants

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luchien Luning ◽  
Paul Roeleveld ◽  
Victor W.M. Claessen
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Biological Degradation ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Sludge Minimization

In recent years new technologies have been developed to improve the biological degradation of sewage sludge by anaerobic digestion. The paper describes the results of a demonstration of ultrasonic disintegration on the Dutch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Land van Cuijk. The effect on the degradation of organic matter is presented, together with the effect on the dewatering characteristics. Recommendations are presented for establishing research conditions in which the effect of sludge disintegration can be determined in a more direct way that is less sensitive to changing conditions in the operation of the WWTP. These recommendations have been implemented in the ongoing research in the Netherlands supported by the National Institute for wastewater research (STOWA).

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