Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Analysis of Different Recovery Processes of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste and Sewage Sludge

Francini, Giovanni; Lombardi, Lidia; Freire, Fausto; Pecorini, Isabella; Marques, Pedro

doi:10.1007/s12649-019-00687-w

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Conventionally LCA has been successfully used to evaluate existent large-scale processes and product life cycles. Relatively recently, new research approaches have been tested in the field of fine chemicals and green synthesis to consider waste treatment 13 , emerging technologies 14 , novel materials 15 and innovative processes and scale-up 16 , multi-criteria comparison of complex systems 17 , to name just few methodological challenges related to biorefinery processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of polyphenols extraction processes from waste biomass

Barjoveanu

Pătrăuțanu

Teodosiu

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Waste biomass from forestry and wood processing industries is a source to obtain fine chemicals, and its processing is a good example of circular economy, but it generates secondary environmental impacts. the main objective of this study was to analyse the environmental performances of laboratory scale processes for polyphenols extraction from spruce bark by means of life cycle assessment (LcA) and to simulate and evaluate the scale-up possibilities of the most favourable alternative. the assessed extraction processes were: a classic Soxhlet extraction using ethanol as solvent (SE), a high-temperature extraction in 1% NaOH solution (NaOH-SLE) and an ultrasound assisted extraction process (UAE). The functional unit was 1 mg of extracted polyphenols, measured as gallic acid equivalents (mg GAE)/g spruce bark. The life cycle inventory has included specific laboratory scale operations and extraction processes (infrastructure and transport processes were not considered). Life cycle impact assessment was performed with ReCipe 2016 at midpoint. For all extraction processes, the environmental profiles were dominated by the electricity use for heating and this has generated the highest impacts in most of the impact categories, followed by the production and use of ethanol as solvent. for the ultrasound assisted extraction, a scale-up scenario has proven that by raising capacity to a 30 L extraction vessel and by changing the heating source to a biomass-fired boiler, environmental impacts may be greatly diminished. The paper discusses also the uncertainty of lab-scale generated data for LcA. A sensitivity analysis has proven that for this case, the energy efficiency of different lab-scale equipment induce acceptable degrees of uncertainty for the LcA results. Biomass has been considered among the most important renewables, with the greatest economic growth potential in the future. Biomass represents the only natural resource that can be converted into both high value-added products and energy. Therefore, the demand for biomass is increasing worldwide. Consequently, there is a growing need to better understand how biomass can be valorised sustainably, what are the biomass flows in the economy and how the increased pressure on natural resources can be adjusted with environmental and economic sustainability in Europe and globally 1. Particularly, by-products from forestry and wood processing industry appear to be the most important and promising feedstock for recycling and for closing product life cycles, in accordance with the circular economy principles. Currently, the main route for wood bark valorization is the direct energy production by incineration at the woodmill, given its relatively high energy content (high heating value of 20.4-25.1 MJ/kg for resinous bark), but due to reasons like heterogeneity and high ash content this option is not so economically feasible 2. The other main valorisation routes refer to different bio-refinery processes developed for the production of chemicals. The high lignin and extractives co...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of polyphenols extraction processes from waste biomass

Barjoveanu

Pătrăuțanu

Teodosiu

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…For example, the water industry uses Anaerobic Digestion (AD) as a process to treat the organic waste in sewage sludge, the main by-product of sewage treatment in Sewage Treatment Works (STW). While achieving the main objective of reducing the pathogens and solids contents, AD allows the recovery of nutrients while recovering energy at the same time [1,2]. The energy recovered in the form of biogas is generally used on-site for electricity and heat generation, allowing the valorisation of sewage sludge as a resource.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demand-Driven Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge: Application in Demonstration Scale

Lafratta

Thorpe

Ouki

et al. 2021

Waste Biomass Valor

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The power system needs flexible electricity generators. Whilst electricity generation from anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge has traditionally been baseload, transforming the generation capacity into a modern flexible operator is an opportunity to further valorise the resource. This work aims to demonstrate that AD of sewage sludge can support flexible generation and be operated dynamically in a relevant operational environment, to promote full scale implementation. A demonstration scale plant (20 m3 conventional AD reactors) was used to test several feeding regimes designed to return a biogas production rate that matches the demand. Two demand profiles are defined, either by common corporate power purchase agreements or by the main balancing mechanism used by the grid operator in UK. Demand-driven biogas production is demonstrated in this relevant operational environment, and the flexibilisation performance is positive in all scenarios. The value of the biogas increases by up to 2%, which outperforms the results obtained at pilot scale. Additionally, an increase in biogas yield is observed. Whilst transitional imbalances are recorded, they last for few hours and the overall stability is not affected. In conclusion, these trials demonstrate demand-driven biogas production is a feasible operational solution and full-scale implementation is possible. Graphical Abstract

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“…It is estimated that in 2018 about 43 million tons of MSW were treated in composting or anaerobic digestion plants, an increase of 3% of the quantity treated in 2017 [6]. Among the biological treatments, anaerobic digestion (AD) is frequently the most cost-effective due to the high energy recovery linked to the process and its limited environmental impact [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodrying of the Light Fraction from Anaerobic Digestion Pretreatment in Order to Increase the Total Recovery Rate

2020

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Two pilot-scale tests were carried out to assess if biodrying could be an effective process for the treatment of light fraction produced by an hydromechanical pre-treatment in an anaerobic digestion plant. The trials were performed using two pilot-scale stainless steel cylindrical reactors of 750 L capacity. Two tests were performed: in Test 1, only the light fraction was used; in Test 2, the light fraction was mixed with a bulking agent composed of garden and pruning waste. In Test 2, the highest temperature (71 °C) in a short time (8 days) was reached. An average water content reduction of 78% in Test 1 and 61% in Test 2 was measured, leading to similar reductions of weight (47–48%) and volume (27–29%). A high biological stability was measured on the final light fraction samples collected from both the tests. Furthermore, the lower heating value obtained after the biodrying treatment complies with the quality specification of the European standard on refuse-derived fuels.

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Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Analysis of Different Recovery Processes of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste and Sewage Sludge

Cited by 35 publications

References 54 publications

Life cycle assessment of polyphenols extraction processes from waste biomass

Life cycle assessment of polyphenols extraction processes from waste biomass

Demand-Driven Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge: Application in Demonstration Scale

Biodrying of the Light Fraction from Anaerobic Digestion Pretreatment in Order to Increase the Total Recovery Rate

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