Waste-to-Carbon: Is the Torrefied Sewage Sludge with High Ash Content a Better Fuel or Fertilizer?

Pulka, Jakub; Manczarski, Piotr; Stępień, Paweł; Styczyńska, Marzena; Kozieł, Jacek A.; Białowiec, Andrzej

doi:10.3390/ma13040954

Cited by 24 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Biochar applications in crop agriculture are often limited by the heavy metals content associated with some types of feedstock and sources (Pulka et al, 2020). Biochar is capable of sorbing heavy metals and making them less available to soil exchange sites for the plant to uptake (Zhang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

Banik¹,

Kozieł²,

De³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Biochar application to the soil can improve soil quality and nutrient leaching loss. Recent studies have reported that surficial application of biochar to stored swine manure can reduce emissions of odorous compounds and reduce the volatilization loss of ammonia. Our working hypothesis was that the biochar-treated manure application to the soil would decrease nutrient leaching from manure and increase plant-available nutrients. The study objectives were to evaluate the impact of biochar-treated swine manure on soil total C, N, and other major and minor nutrients. Three biochars (i) neutral pH red-oak (RO), (ii) highly alkaline autothermal corn (Zea mays) stover (HAP), and (iii) mild acidic Fe-treated autothermal corn stover (HAPE) were incubated with swine manure for a month. The biochar-manure mixture was applied in triplicate to soil columns with application rate determined by the P2O5-P content in manure or manure-biochar mixtures after the incubation. The ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), and reactive P concentrations in soil column leachates were recorded for eight leaching events. Soil properties and plant-available nutrients were compared between treatments and control manure & soil. Manure-(HAP&HAPE) biochar treatments significantly increased soil organic matter (OM) and increased soil total C, N, and improved soil bulk density. Concentrations of KCl-extractable NH4+ and NO3- significantly increased in HAPE column leachates during this 4-week study and in the soil after the experiment. A significant reduction in soil Mehlich3 Cu was also observed for the manure-HAPE mixture compared with the control. Overall, the manure-biochar incubation enabled biochar to sorb nutrients from manure, and the subsequent manure-biochar mixture application to soil improved soil quality and plant nutrient availability in comparison to conventional manure application to soil. This proof-of-the-concept study suggests that biochars could be used to solve both environmental and agronomic challenges and further improve the sustainability of animal and crop production agriculture.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

Banik¹,

Kozieł²,

De³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Data presenting the fuel properties of SS and biochars (lost on the ignition, ash content, C, H, N, O, higher heating value, lower heating values) and fertilizer properties of SS and biochars (Ca, Mg, K, Na content) obtained in this experiment were published by [6]. Raw data of solid content, mass yield, HM contents in SS and biochars, hydrophobicity, toxicity, and HMs' and other pollutants' concentrations in water extracts from SS and biochars are included as Supplementary Materials Excel S1.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biochar is generated from the thermal treatment (torrefaction, pyrolysis) of biowaste [1]. Recent studies indicated that sewage sludge (SS) is a suitable feedstock for torrefaction [2][3][4][5][6]. Torrefaction (also known as "roasting" or "high-temperature drying") could densify carbon and stabilize SS, thereby offering a sustainable resource recovery solution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the SS torrefaction technology is developing, researchers are focusing on the optimization of the process parameters and the improvement of the fuel properties of the biochar [7,8]. Previous studies indicated that both raw and torrefied SS have average fuel properties [4,6]. To date, the main raw SS disposal methods include landfilling, landscaping, incineration, and agricultural applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, the main raw SS disposal methods include landfilling, landscaping, incineration, and agricultural applications. Therefore, the agricultural application of torrefied SS has been proposed as an alternative solution for its energetic utilization [6]. However, the aspects of the potential influence of torrefied SS on the environment have not been intensely studied, yet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is Biochar from the Torrefaction of Sewage Sludge Hazardous Waste?

et al. 2020

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Improved technologies are needed for sustainable management of sewage sludge (SS). The torrefaction (also known as biomass “roasting”) is considered a pretreatment of SS before use in agriculture. However, it is not known whether the torrefaction has the potential to decrease heavy metals’ (HMs) leachability and the SS toxicity. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the influences of the SS torrefaction parameters (temperature and process time) on HM contents in biochar, HM leachability, and biochar toxicity, and compare them with raw SS. The experiments were designed in 18 combinations (six temperatures, 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, and 300 °C; and three process times—20, 40, 60 min). Standard tests were used to determine HMs content, leachability, and toxicity. Results indicated that the torrefaction did not increase (p < 0.05) the HM content in comparison to the raw SS. The leachability of Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Mn from SS biochars was similar to raw SS. However, the degree of leachability varied significantly (p < 0.05) from as low as 0.1% for Cu to high as 16.7% for Cd. The leachability of Cd (<16.7%) and Pb (<11.9%) from biochars was higher than from raw SS (<6.1% and <2.4%, respectively). The leachability of Cd from SS biochar, in five torrefaction combinations, was higher than the threshold value for hazardous waste. It is recommended that site-specific decisions are made for torrefaction of SS with respect to its HM content, as the resulting biochar could be considered as hazardous waste, depending on the feedstock. Moreover, the biochar produced under the whole range of temperatures during 20 min retention time significantly (p < 0.05) increased the Daphnia magna Straus mobility inhibition by up to 100% in comparison to the biochar obtained during 40 and 60 min torrefaction. Taking into account the increased leachability of specific HMs and D. magna Straus mobility inhibition, biochar should be considered a potentially hazardous material. Future research should focus on biochar dosage as a fertilizer in relation to its toxicity. Additional research is warranted to focus on the optimization of SS torrefaction process parameters affecting the toxicity.

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Local resilience for low‐carbon transition in Poland: Frameworks, conditions and opportunities for Central European countries

Verma

Chodkowska‐Miszczuk

Lewandowska

et al. 2023

Sustainable Development

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Poland, with its objective of switching from a fossil-fuel base to renewable sources of energy, is a textbook example of an energy transition economy. In this review, the challenges and opportunities for local resilience were identified, followed by an indepth analysis of Low Carbon Economy Plans (LCEP) in the 10 largest cities of Poland. The methodology included a bibliometric analysis of the peer-reviewed studies published from 2010 to 2022, along with K-means clustering (empirical analysis) of the selected Polish cities. The challenges and opportunities were classified into social (S), economic (E), institutional (I), political (P), technological (T) and environmental (EN) dimensions. Institutional and political dimensions were identified as having a relatively neglected niche in low-carbon transition research, necessitating an empirical analysis of LCEP at the city scale. Exploiting the knowledge base of traditional sustainable activities, understanding the power relations between the politics, stakeholders and industry elements, and knowledge-based governance were found vital for creating relevant policies. Three modes of development, multi-activity goals (MG), energy transition goals (EG), and transport goals (TG) were identified for increasing local resilience. The results illustrate the need to understand low-carbon policies and their impacts on both energy transitions and local resilience.

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Waste-to-Carbon: Is the Torrefied Sewage Sludge with High Ash Content a Better Fuel or Fertilizer?

Cited by 24 publications

References 56 publications

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

Soil Nutrients and Carbon Dynamics in the Presence of Biochar-swine Manure Mixture Under Controlled Leaching Experiment Using a Midwestern USA Soil

Is Biochar from the Torrefaction of Sewage Sludge Hazardous Waste?

Local resilience for low‐carbon transition in Poland: Frameworks, conditions and opportunities for Central European countries

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