Life cycle assessment of sewage sludge pretreatment for biogas production: From laboratory tests to full-scale applicability

Mainardis, Matia; Buttazzoni, Marco; Gievers, Fabian; Vance, Charlene; Magnolo, Francesca; Murphy, Fionnuala; Goi, Daniele

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129056

Cited by 50 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Despite being often proposed as technically feasible alternatives for tertiary P&P WW remediation, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are characterized by high CAPEX and OPEX [23,35,49], limiting their full-scale applicability. Thus, the importance of conducting economic feasibility analyses appears fundamental, besides only affording experimental results (especially if conducted at a laboratory scale) [18]. Considering the present economic results (Section 3.4) and the current uncertainty in energy/chemicals prices at a worldwide level, in the analyzed case study, ultrafiltration would probably be the best solution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In a more thorough perspective, besides WW treatment, excess sludge valorization is fundamental in P&P effluents, as it includes microbial biomass, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Besides traditional energy recovery through anaerobic digestion [18], sludge can also be hydrolyzed to release simple sugars and form added-value products by microbial fermentation [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Alternatives for Tertiary Treatment of Pulp and Paper Wastewater

et al. 2022

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In this work, different alternatives to conventional tertiary treatment of pulp and paper (P&P) wastewater (WW), i.e., physicochemical coagulation-flocculation, were investigated to enhance the environmental and economic sustainability of industrial wastewater treatment. In particular, following a preliminary characterization of secondary effluents, cloth filtration and adsorption were studied, the former by pilot-scale tests, while the latter at laboratory scale. An economic analysis was finally accomplished to verify the full-scale applicability of the most promising technologies. Cloth filtration showed excellent total suspended solids (TSS) removal efficiency (mean 81% removal) but a very limited influence on chemical oxygen demand (COD) (mean 10% removal) due to the prevalence of soluble COD on particulate COD. Adsorption, instead, led to a good COD removal efficiency (50% abatement at powdered activated carbon—PAC—dosage of 400 mg/L). The economic analysis proved that adsorption would be convenient only if a local low-cost (100 €/ton) adsorbent supply chain was established. Ultrafiltration was considered as well as a potential alternative: its huge capital cost (19 M€) could be recovered in a relatively short timeframe (pay-back time of 4.7 years) if the ultrafiltrated effluent could be sold to local industries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Alternatives for Tertiary Treatment of Pulp and Paper Wastewater

et al. 2022

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“…It is essential to consider the transportation/handling costs, disposal costs, environmental degradation costs, and market value of the products. When all these factors are considered, it is hypothesized that the overall conversion of wastes to valuable products can become feasible both economically and environmentally [35]. A further study on all the economic factors can help implement our results on a commercial scale.…”

Section: Substrate Compositionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The construction of the layout is shown in Figure 1. The digesters were placed at room temperature, i.e., Energies 2022, 15, 490 4 of 12 35 ± 2 • C. The mixture was made with CGT 52.27 g (by weight), one kg of CM, and one liter of inoculum sludge. The volume of gas produced was measured as per each gas collector's rise in water level.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scherzinger and Kaltschmitt [34] reported that the pretreatments could reduce the overall cost for power generation as they can increase the valued products. Each pretreatment has its own economic and environmental pros and cons [35]. Life cycle assessments (LCA) can be conducted to evaluate the impact of these pretreatments on the environment.…”

Section: Substrate Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Using Pretreated Cotton Gin Trash on the Production of Biogas from Anaerobic Co-Digestion with Cow Manure and Sludge

et al. 2022

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Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) has been practiced for decades to convert waste into value-added energy products, especially biogas. This study aimed to assess the potential of biogenic methane (CH4) production from the co-digestion of pretreated cotton gin trash (CGT), cow manure, and sludge. CGT contains high cellulosic content, making it a reliable feedstock for biogenic methane production. To further improve the biogas quantity and quality, the CGT was subjected to physical pretreatments, i.e., hot water (HW), ultra-sonication (US), and a combination of both (HW+US). After 91 days of AcoD, 79–110 L of biogas was produced by the treatments. Among the treatments, HW+US-pretreated CGT presented maximum biogas production capacity, at 110 L. Besides, this treatment showed the high-quality biogenic CH4 content, 52.4% of the total biogas volume, with an improved conversion rate of 0.37 L/g of volatile suspended solids consumed. In addition, this study discussed the structural changes in feedstock due to pretreatments and correlated them with the corresponding biogenic methane production. The study reports the potential of pretreated CGT conversion to CH4. It will impact the circular economy by contributing to on-farm energy requirements and reducing the financial expenditures incurred in this regard.

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