Bioreactors for wastewater to energy conversion: from pilot to full scale experiences

Bianco, Francesco; Race, Marco; Forino, Vincenzo; Pacheco-Ruiz, Santiago; Rene, Eldon R.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-821879-2.00004-1

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…Moreover, the compactness of membrane modules contributes to minimizing the footprint required for wastewater treatment facilities, making it possible to retrofit existing treatment plants with a limited available space. The feasibility of AnMBR application for urban wastewater treatment has been verified by previous studies and numerous large-scale applications [4][5][6][7][8], which have encompassed scale-up assessments [9][10][11]. AnMBRs have also been applied for co-digesting several substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…The consumption ratios in upgrading and grid injection systems were obtained from [34], while the CHP efficiencies were obtained from [35]. The total thermal energy demand balance (Q demand ) and the total electrical energy demand balance (W demand ) were calculated according to Equation (10) and Equation (11), respectively. Biomethane production (Q BM ) was calculated for both Scenarios 2 and 3 using Equation ( 12), consid-ering that raw biogas was utilized to meet the Q demand , and the remaining fraction was upgraded for injection into the natural gas grid.…”

Section: Ghg Emissions Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Microalgae and Primary Sludge Co-Digestion at Pilot Scale: Instrumentation, Control and Automation Implementation, and Performance Assessment

Mora-Sánchez,

Serna-García,

Bouzas

et al. 2023

Water

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Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology is gaining interest for circular economy integration in the water sector. However, its complexity, arising from the integration of anaerobic processes with membrane technology, poses a key challenge. Developing an appropriate instrumentation, control, and automation (ICA) system is essential for its reliable long-term operation. In this study, an ICA system was developed to successfully manage an AnMBR pilot plant co-digesting two waste streams (microalgae and primary sludge). The ICA implementation enabled its stable long-term operation for 576 days, ensuring the proper performance of biological and filtration processes and yielding 215 NmLCH4·gCODinf−1 at 35 °C. Variables such as temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, permeate flux and biogas flow were identified as key parameters and controlled. This included a 23% reduction in the integral of absolute error compared to a PID controller for permeate flow and the maintenance of a 0.5% standard deviation for digester temperature. These controls enabled AnMBR performance optimization, the rapid detection of process issues, and early corrective actions. As a start-up strategy to ensure proper filtration performance in the long term, critical flux tests were conducted, guaranteeing a competitive total annualized equivalent cost of 0.0016 EUR/m3 for optimal conditions. The study also calculated greenhouse gas emissions in different scenarios, proposing optimal and more sustainable pilot plant operations, mesophilic conditions, biogas upgrading through microalgae cultivation, and grid injection, reducing emissions by 423 kgCO2e·tCOD−1. To ensure the viability of emerging technologies such as AnMBR, proper start-up protocols are crucial, including favorable filtration and biological process operating conditions, ICA implementation, and key parameter control for technical, economic and environmental success.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Ghg Emissions Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Microalgae and Primary Sludge Co-Digestion at Pilot Scale: Instrumentation, Control and Automation Implementation, and Performance Assessment

Mora-Sánchez,

Serna-García,

Bouzas

et al. 2023

Water

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“…The AD process has developed from an initial concept of a strategy to mitigate the impact of mainly wastewater streams and other pollutants to a real bioenergy factory utilising the most varied substrates for energy production and high-value product recovery [8][9][10]. AD digestion is carried out by different groups of microorganisms that act synergically to degrade complex organic substrates in four sequential stages, i.e., hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis, to produce biogas, i.e., a gas mixture of carbon dioxide and methane, as the final product [11]. In particular, lignocellulosic wastes (LWs) are abundant biomass generated throughout the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Chemical and Physical Pretreatment on Methane Potential of Peanut Shells

et al. 2023

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The request for alternative sources of energy has led to evaluating untapped routes for energy production, such as using abundant and low-cost waste materials, e.g., lignocellulosic wastes, as the substrate for biological processes aimed at biofuel production. This study focused on peanut shells (PS) valorisation via anaerobic digestion (AD). Two emerging pretreatments, i.e., organosolv and ultrasounds, were investigated to unlock the full AD potential of PS. The impact of a substrate-to-solvent ratio in organosolv pretreatment was investigated (i.e., 1:5 vs. 1:10 vs. 1:20). Different exposure times were tested for ultrasound pretreatment, corresponding to applied energy densities of 30,000, 12,000, and 6000 kJ/kg VS, respectively. Organosolv pretreatment achieved the maximal polyphenol solubilisation, i.e., 4.90 mg/g TS, when increasing the substrate-to-solvent ratio, whereas methane production did not benefit from the pretreatment, being comparable with that of raw PS at most (i.e., 55.0 mL CH4/g VS). On the other hand, ultrasounds mainly affected sugar solubilisation (up to 37.90 mg/g TS), enhancing methane production up to an extra 64%, achieved with the highest energy density. The organosolv route would benefit from further downstream steps to recover the biomolecules released in the liquid fraction, whereas ultrasounds pretreatment provided a slurry suitable for direct AD.

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“…Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the most employed and successful strategies for biofuel production [1]. The gaseous output of AD is biogas, a gas mixture mainly composed of carbon dioxide and methane that can be used for several applications depending on the purity and volume [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) pretreatment to enhance the bioconversion of lignocellulosic residues to methane

Oliva

Tan

Papirio

et al. 2022

Biomass Conv. Bioref.

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Lignocellulosic residues (LRs) are one of the most abundant wastes produced worldwide. Nevertheless, unlocking the full energy potential from LRs for biofuel production is limited by their complex structure. This study investigated the effect of N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) pretreatment on almond shell (AS), spent coffee grounds (SCG), and hazelnut skin (HS) to improve their bioconversion to methane. The pretreatment was performed using a 73% NMMO solution heated at 120 °C for 1, 3, and 5 h. The baseline methane productions achieved from raw AS, SCG, and HS were 54.7 (± 5.3), 337.4 (± 16.5), and 265.4 (± 10.4) mL CH4/g VS, respectively. The NMMO pretreatment enhanced the methane potential of AS up to 58%, although no changes in chemical composition and external surface were observed after pretreatment. Opposite to this, pretreated SCG showed increased porosity (up to 63%) and a higher sugar percentage (up to 27%) after pretreatment despite failing to increase methane production. All pretreatment conditions were effective on HS, achieving the highest methane production of 400.4 (± 9.5) mL CH4/g VS after 5 h pretreatment. The enhanced methane production was due to the increased sugar percentage (up to 112%), lignin removal (up to 29%), and loss of inhibitory compounds during the pretreatment. An energy assessment revealed that the NMMO pretreatment is an attractive technology to be implemented on an industrial scale for energy recovery from HS residues.

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Bioreactors for wastewater to energy conversion: from pilot to full scale experiences

Cited by 12 publications

References 130 publications

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Microalgae and Primary Sludge Co-Digestion at Pilot Scale: Instrumentation, Control and Automation Implementation, and Performance Assessment

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Microalgae and Primary Sludge Co-Digestion at Pilot Scale: Instrumentation, Control and Automation Implementation, and Performance Assessment

Impact of Chemical and Physical Pretreatment on Methane Potential of Peanut Shells

Use of N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) pretreatment to enhance the bioconversion of lignocellulosic residues to methane

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