The anaerobic digestion technology has been in existence for centuries and its underlying theory established for decades. It is considered a useful technology for the generation of renewable energy, and provides means to alleviate problems associated with low access to energy. However, a great deal of current research is targeted towards the optimization of this technology under diverse digestion process conditions. This review presents an in-depth analysis of the chemistry of anaerobic digestion and discusses how process chemistry can be used to optimize system performance through identification of methods that can accelerate syntrophic interactions of different microorganisms for improved methanogenic reactions. Recent advances in addition to old research are discussed in order to offer a general but comprehensive synopsis of accumulated knowledge in the theory of anaerobic digestion, as well as an overview of previous research and future directions and opportunities of the AD technology. Achieving a sustainable energy system requires comprehensive reforms in not just economic, social and policy aspects, but also in all technical aspects, which represents one of the most crucial future investments for anaerobic digestion systems.
Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pulp and paper products in the world. It follows that huge quantities of sludge rich in carbonaceous organic material and containing heavy metals are generated. This paper carried out a comparative environmental analysis of three different technologies, which can be adopted to produce biochar and recover energy from the biosludge, using landfilling as the reference case. These three thermochemical biosludge management systems—using incineration, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC)—were modeled using life cycle assessment (LCA). Heat generated in the incineration process (System A) was considered to be for captive consumption within the kraft pulp mills. It was assumed that the biochars—pyrochar and hydrochar—produced from pyrolysis (System B) and HTC (System C), respectively, were added to the forest soils. The LCA results show that all the alternative systems considerably improve the environmental performance of biosludge management, relative to landfilling. For all systems, there are net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (–0.89, –1.43, and –1.13 tonnes CO2‐equivalent per tonne dry matter biosludge in Systems A, B, and C, respectively). System B resulted in the lowest potential eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity impacts, whereas System C had the least acidification potential. The results of this analysis show that, from an environmental point of view, biochar soil amendment as an alternative method for handling pulp and paper mill biosludge is preferable to energy recovery. However, an optimal biochar system needs to factor in the social and economic contexts as well.
The production and use of wood-fuel pellets have increased significantly worldwide in recent years. The increased use of biomaterials has resulted in higher raw material prices, and there are no signs that indicate a decrease in raw material competition. Additives can be used for different purposes. Partly, they are used to facilitate the use of new raw materials to increase the raw material base, and partly, they are used to decrease the energy use in the pelletizing process. They are also used to increase durability or shelf life. Consequently, it is necessary to do research that systematically investigates the consequences of using additives. In this work, it is investigated how various percentages of different kinds of starch influence pellet properties, including shelf life and energy use in the pelletizing process. Four different starch grades were used: native wheat starch, oxidized corn starch, native potato starch, and oxidized potato starch. The pellets were produced in a small industrial pellet press located at Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden. The result shows that starch increases the durability of the pellets. Oxidized starches increase the durability more than native starches, and the best results were obtained by adding oxidized corn starch. The durability did not decrease with storage time when the pellets were stored indoors during 7 months. The oxidation process was not consistently altered by the addition of starch. The energy consumption of the pellet press decreases when starch is added. Again, the oxidized corn starch showed the best result; when 2.8% of corn starch was added, the average energy consumption was reduced by 14%.
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