Long-term validation of polyhydroxyalkanoates production potential from the sidestream of municipal wastewater treatment plant at pilot scale

Conca, Vincenzo; Ros, Cinzia Da; Valentino, Francesco; Eusebi, Anna Laura; Frison, Nicola; Fatone, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2020.124627

Cited by 67 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The fermented stream CPS fed both the selection and the accumulation steps. As a result, the PHA production represented up to 17.5% of the COD conversion and a potential PHA production of 1.2 kg PHA/PE year was calculated ( Conca et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A novel substrate derived from fermentation of CPS was used as carbon source to evaluate the impacts on PHAs production and it was characterized by a VS/TS ratio equal to 92%; a relatively high content in terms of COD (1.5 g O 2 /g TS) and a low content of TKN (16/22 mg N/g TS) and P (1.7/4.7 mg P/g TS) ( Da Ros et al, 2020 ). Process setup and operative conditions are extensively described in Conca et al (2020) . The pilot plant comprised the following units: i) rotating belt dynamic filter (RBDF) for the recovery of CPS; ii) fermentation unit for the production of VFAs; iii) ultrafiltration unit (UF) for solid/liquid separation of the fermented sludge; iv) nitritation sequencing batch reactor (N-SBR) for the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite; v) selection SBR (S-SBR) where aerobic-feast and anoxic-famine conditions were established to select PHA-accumulating biomass; and vi) an accumulation SBR (A-SBR) were intracellular PHA content was maximized through the feed-on-demand strategy.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, it is possible to combine the use of both MMCs ( Beccari et al, 1998 ; Dionisi et al, 2004 ) and economic feedstocks ( Dionisi et al, 2005 ; Bengtsson et al, 2008 ; Albuquerque et al, 2010 ; Bengtsson et al, 2010b ; Campanari et al, 2014 ). Recently, the conversion of both wastewaters and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) mixtures obtained from the fermentation of different organic feedstocks, by MMC, have been investigated for the implementation of such a three-step process at pilot scale, by the integration of MMC-PHA production to wastewater treatment ( Valentino et al, 2019 ; Conca et al, 2020 ; Moretto et al, 2020 ). However, downstream processing, including PHA-rich biomass stabilization and polymer extraction, are among the most important factors affecting the overall PHA production cost and need to be optimized for pilot scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced at Pilot Scale From Different Organic Wastes

Lorini

Martinelli

Capuani

et al. 2021

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) production at pilot scale has been recently investigated and carried out exploiting different process configurations and organic wastes. More in detail, three pilot platforms, in Treviso (North-East of Italy), Carbonera (North-East of Italy) and Lisbon, produced PHAs by open mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) and different organic waste streams: organic fraction of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge (OFMSW-WAS), cellulosic primary sludge (CPS), and fruit waste (FW), respectively. In this context, two stabilization methods have been applied, and compared, for preserving the amount of PHA inside the cells: thermal drying and wet acidification of the biomass at the end of PHA accumulation process. Afterward, polymer has been extracted following an optimized method based on aqueous-phase inorganic reagents. Several PHA samples were then characterized to determine PHA purity, chemical composition, molecular weight, and thermal properties. The polymer contained two types of monomers, namely 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) at a relative percentage of 92.6–79.8 and 7.4–20.2 w/w, respectively, for Treviso and Lisbon plants. On the other hand, an opposite range was found for 3HB and 3HV monomers of PHA from Carbonera, which is 44.0–13.0 and 56.0–87.0 w/w, respectively. PHA extracted from wet-acidified biomass had generally higher viscosity average molecular weights (Mv) (on average 424.8 ± 20.6 and 224.9 ± 21.9 KDa, respectively, for Treviso and Lisbon) while PHA recovered from thermally stabilized dried biomass had a three-fold lower Mv.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced at Pilot Scale From Different Organic Wastes

Lorini

Martinelli

Capuani

et al. 2021

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The PHA production process, when integrated with wastewater treatment, usually takes place in three distinct process elements: (i) sludge fermentation for volatile fatty acid (VFA) production; (ii) culture selection to produce biomass with a high PHA accumulation potential; and (iii) PHA accumulation using the biomass produced in the second process unit and the VFA rich stream produced in the first. The feasibility of producing PHA-rich mixed-culture biomass from municipal wastewater treatment using this scheme has been widely demonstrated at the pilot scale [50][51][52]. The integration of the PHA production process in full-scale WWTPs would be a step toward a change of paradigm in wastewater management: from WWTPs as end-of-pipe environmental-protection infrastructure to the concept of wastewater biorefineries; in other words, from a linear-economy model to a circular one.…”

Section: Sludge Reusementioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing a Transition to a Circular Economy in the Water Sector: The EU Project WIDER UPTAKE

Mannina

Badalucco

Barbara

et al. 2021

Water

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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) require an urgent transition from a linear to a circular economy operation/design concept with a consequent resource recovery and more sustainable waste management. Natural resources have to be preserved, and wastes have to become an opportunity for recovering resources and materials (water reuse, energy, sludge reuse). However, the transition toward a circular economy is a complex and long process due to the existence of technical, economic, social and regulatory barriers. These existing barriers are critical challenges for a modern and sustainable WWTP concept. The recovery of resources must be considered a strategic target from the earliest process-design phase. In this context, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project “Achieving wider uptake of water-smart solutions—WIDER UPTAKE” aims to overcome the existing barriers (technological, regulatory, organizational, social and economic) toward the transition from a linear to a circular economy model for WWTPs. This study is aimed at increasing the awareness of the existing barriers to a circular economy and summarizes the key contributions of the WIDER UPTAKE project in terms of water reuse, sludge reuse and nutrient recovery.

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“…The recovery of resources (materials and energy) from wastewater is a promising solution to the relevant sustainability challenges of water utilities in modern societies There is a wide range of innovative technologies that are currently being applied, which not only increase the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), but also reduce the amount of sludge produced, reduce the energy consumed and provide clear environmental and economic benefits (Conca et al, 2020;Da Ros et al, 2020). These new technologies are applied at different stages during water treatment, but mostly in side streams and down streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass fuel production from cellulosic sludge through biodrying: Aeration strategies, quality of end-products, gaseous emissions and techno-economic assessment

et al. 2021

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This study assesses the technological, environmental and economic feasibility of biodrying to valorise cellulosic sludge as a renewable energy source. Specifically, three different aeration strategies were compared in terms of biodrying performance, energetic consumption, gaseous emissions, quality of end-products and technoeconomic analysis. These strategies were based on different combinations of convective drying with biogenic heat produced. Two innovative biodrying performance indicators (Energetic Biodrying Index and Biodrying Performance Index) were proposed to better assess the initial and operational conditions that favour the maximum energy process efficiency and the highest end-product quality. The end-products obtained consistently presented moisture contents below 40% and lower heating values above 9.4 MJ•kg-1.However, the best values achieved were 32.6% and 10.4 MJ•kg-1 for moisture content and lower heating value, respectively. Low N2O and CH4 emissions confirmed the effective aeration of all three strategies carried out, while NH4 and tVOCs were related either to temperature or biological phenomena. A techno-economic analysis proved the economic viability and attractiveness of the biodrying technology for cellulosic sludge in all the strategies applied.

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Long-term validation of polyhydroxyalkanoates production potential from the sidestream of municipal wastewater treatment plant at pilot scale

Cited by 67 publications

References 42 publications

Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced at Pilot Scale From Different Organic Wastes

Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced at Pilot Scale From Different Organic Wastes

Enhancing a Transition to a Circular Economy in the Water Sector: The EU Project WIDER UPTAKE

Biomass fuel production from cellulosic sludge through biodrying: Aeration strategies, quality of end-products, gaseous emissions and techno-economic assessment

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