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Zaki M, Rowles LS, Adjeroh DA, Orner KD. A Critical Review of Data Science Applications in Resource Recovery and Carbon Capture from Organic Waste. ACS ES&T ENGINEERING 2023; 3:1424-1467. [PMID: 37854077 PMCID: PMC10580293 DOI: 10.1021/acsestengg.3c00043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Municipal and agricultural organic waste can be treated to recover energy, nutrients, and carbon through resource recovery and carbon capture (RRCC) technologies such as anaerobic digestion, struvite precipitation, and pyrolysis. Data science could benefit such technologies by improving their efficiency through data-driven process modeling along with reducing environmental and economic burdens via life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA), respectively. We critically reviewed 616 peer-reviewed articles on the use of data science in RRCC published during 2002-2022. Although applications of machine learning (ML) methods have drastically increased over time for modeling RRCC technologies, the reviewed studies exhibited significant knowledge gaps at various model development stages. In terms of sustainability, an increasing number of studies included LCA with TEA to quantify both environmental and economic impacts of RRCC. Integration of ML methods with LCA and TEA has the potential to cost-effectively investigate the trade-off between efficiency and sustainability of RRCC, although the literature lacked such integration of techniques. Therefore, we propose an integrated data science framework to inform efficient and sustainable RRCC from organic waste based on the review. Overall, the findings from this review can inform practitioners about the effective utilization of various data science methods for real-world implementation of RRCC technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed
T. Zaki
- Wadsworth
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, United States
| | - Lewis S. Rowles
- Department
of Civil Engineering and Construction, Georgia
Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia 30458, United States
| | - Donald A. Adjeroh
- Lane
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, United States
| | - Kevin D. Orner
- Wadsworth
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, United States
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2
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Zhang X, Wang Z, Peng X, Xiao J, Wu Q, Chen X. Comprehensive evaluation of sewage sludge anaerobic digestion process with different digestate treatments. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:56303-56316. [PMID: 36917383 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26214-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is one of the most promising methods for reducing sewage sludge and recovering energy. In the present study, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of sewage sludge anaerobic digestion processes with different digestate treatments, including mesophilic anaerobic digestion with digestate landfilling (CAD-1) and digestate incineration (CAD-2), thermophilic anaerobic digestion combined with thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment with digestate land use (THPAD-1), and digestate incineration (THPAD-2), was performed to evaluate their environmental, resource, economic, and comprehensive performances using the SimaPro software. Environmental impact analysis revealed marine ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and human carcinogenic toxicity as the most obvious impacts, resulting in the most significant damage to human health. Resource analysis indicated that anaerobic digestion combined with cogeneration and digestate incineration is advantageous to high energy recovery, but digestate incineration is disadvantageous to economic performance because of increased investment costs. Comparison of the four processes revealed that THPAD-2 results in the largest environmental damage, whereas CAD-1 has the smallest load. Meanwhile, THPAD-2 and THPAD-1 exhibit the best resource performance and net economic benefit, respectively. The comprehensive evaluation indices revealed that THPAD-1 and CAD-2 show better comprehensive performance. And the deep drying incineration process exhibited better comprehensive performance than sewage sludge anaerobic digestion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Zhenjiang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Xiaowei Peng
- Shenzhen Energy Environment Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 518000, China
| | - Jun Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
| | - Qijing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Xiaoping Chen
- Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
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Neumann P, Riquelme C, Cartes J, Kuschel-Otárola M, Hospido A, Vidal G. Relevance of sludge management practices and substance modeling in LCA for decision-making: A case study in Chile. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 324:116357. [PMID: 36202036 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Reducing the costs and environmental impacts of sludge management is currently one of the main challenges faced by the wastewater treatment sector. Anaerobic digestion followed by land application has been widely endorsed as a low-impact approach to sludge management, mainly due to the recovery of biogas and the valorization of digestate. However, the influence that the operational conditions of digestion and the management practices of land application can have over the environmental performance of this strategy has been scarcely studied. Furthermore, most of the previous studies dealing with the environmental assessment of this strategy use simplified methods for estimating emissions after land application of sludge, and the lack of systematic accounting of these environmental flows might significantly affect the validity and comparability of the results. Therefore, this work performed an assessment of the influence that 4 relevant practices can have over the environmental impacts of this approach in the context of south-central Chile, providing a mass-balanced inventory for nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals in soil based on the ad hoc implementation of models developed for agricultural Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A total of 16 scenarios were defined and 10 impact categories were evaluated, with the results showing that the environmental impacts were greatly influenced by the variables under study. Overall, solids retention time and the inclusion of pre-treatment mainly influenced climate change, fossil resource depletion and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential, while sludge application rate influenced the eutrophication, water ecotoxicity and human toxicity categories. The type of crop in the receiving soil was a significant driver behind the differences observed in the human toxicity category, which showed the highest variation and relevance in the final weighted result. The results clearly highlight the relevance of using context specific data as well as of quantifying the fate of nutrients, metals and heavy metals during LCA of sludge management. Based on the results, some policy and decision-making recommendations are formulated to optimize the environmental performance of sludge digestion and land application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricio Neumann
- Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Del Bío-Bío, Chillán, Chile; Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID/FONDAP/15130015, Chile.
| | - Cristian Riquelme
- Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Del Bío-Bío, Chillán, Chile
| | - Javier Cartes
- Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group, Environmental Sciences Faculty & EULA-CHILE Center, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Mathias Kuschel-Otárola
- Department of Soils and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agronomy, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán, Chile
| | - Almudena Hospido
- CRETUS, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
| | - Gladys Vidal
- Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID/FONDAP/15130015, Chile; Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group, Environmental Sciences Faculty & EULA-CHILE Center, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
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Mong GR, Liew CS, Chong WWF, Mohd Nor SA, Ng JH, Idris R, Chiong MC, Lim JW, Zakaria ZA, Woon KS. Environment impact and bioenergy analysis on the microwave pyrolysis of WAS from food industry: Comparison of CO 2 and N 2 atmosphere. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 319:115665. [PMID: 35842993 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The alarming output of waste activated sludge (WAS) from industries requires proper management routes to minimize its impact on the environment during disposal. Pyrolysis is a feasible way of processing and valorizing WAS into higher-value products of alternate use. Despite extensive research into the potential of WAS through pyrolysis, the technology's long-term viability and environmental impact have yet to be fully revealed. In addition, the environmental effects of utilizing different pyrolysis atmosphere (N2 or CO2) has not been studied before, although benefits of CO2 reactivity during pyrolysis have been discovered. This study evaluates the process's environmental impact, carbon footprint, and bioenergy yield when different pyrolysis atmospheres are used. The global warming potential (GWP) for a functional unit of 1 t of dried WAS is 203.81 kg CO2 eq. The heat required during pyrolysis contributes the most (63.7%) towards GWP due to high energy usage, followed by the drying process (23.6%). Transportation contributes the most towards toxicity impact (59.3%) through dust, NOx, NH3 and SO2 emissions. The initial moisture content of raw WAS (65%) greatly impacts overall energy consumption and environmental impact. Pyrolysis in an N2 atmosphere will result in a higher overall bioenergy yield (833 kWh/tonne) and a lower carbon footprint (-1.09 kg CO2/tonne). However, when CO2 was used, the specific energy value within the biochar is higher (22.26 MJ/kg) due to enhanced carbonization. The carbon content of gas derived increased due to higher CO yield. From an energy perspective, the current setup will achieve a net positive bioenergy yield of 561 kW (CO2) and 833 kW (N2), where end products like biochar, bio-oil and gas can be used for power production. Despite the energy-intensive process, microwave pyrolysis has excellent potential to achieve a negative carbon footprint. The biochar used for soil amendment served as a good carbon sink. The utilization of CO2 as carrier gases provides a pathway to utilize anthropogenic CO2, which helps reduce global warming. This work demonstrates microwave pyrolysis as a negative emission, bioenergy-producing approach for WAS disposal and valorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo Ren Mong
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Chin Seng Liew
- Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, HICoE-Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
| | - William Woei Fong Chong
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Automotive Development Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Siti Aminah Mohd Nor
- QL Figo (Johor) Sdn Bhd, Lot 3627, Jalan Harmoni 1, Taman Harmoni, 81000, Kulai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Jo-Han Ng
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM), 79200, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Rubia Idris
- Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Meng Choung Chiong
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Technology & Built Environment, UCSI University, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Jun Wei Lim
- Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, HICoE-Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
| | - Zainul Akmar Zakaria
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Kok Sin Woon
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
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Cecconet D, Mainardis M, Callegari A, Capodaglio AG. Psychrophilic treatment of municipal wastewater with a combined UASB/ASD system, and perspectives for improving urban WWTP sustainability. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 297:134228. [PMID: 35271894 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
According to new paradigms of urban wastewater management, energy savings and resources and energy recovery from sewage will assume an ever-increasing importance. Anaerobic processes, aside from being more energy efficient than conventional aerobic ones, are particularly suited to recover embedded organic energy, improving the overall energy balance of treatment processes, however, their performance is limited by low temperatures and slower kinetics. In this study, a pilot Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor was operated to treat municipal wastewater at low temperature regime (16.5-18.5 °C) for 22 weeks, both as standalone process and combined with a sidestream anaerobic sludge digester. Process performance highlighted good system robustness, as proved by stable pH and volatile fatty acid/total alkaline buffer capacity ratio, even though observed methane yield was low. Observed COD and TSS removal efficiencies were in the ranges of 60-69% and 63-73%, respectively. Methane production ranged between 0.106 and 0.132 Nm3CH4/kgCODrem. An economic assessment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of implementing UASB pre-treatment of municipal wastewater in existing conventional facilities (activated sludge and anaerobic sludge digestion), showing that significant energy demand reduction could be achieved for both biological secondary treatment and sludge management, leading to considerable operational economies, and possible positive economic returns within a short pay-back period (3-4 yrs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Cecconet
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura, Università Degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Matia Mainardis
- Dipartimento Politecnico di Ingegneria e Architettura (DPIA), Università Degli Studi di Udine, Via Del Cotonificio 108, 33100, Udine, Italy
| | - Arianna Callegari
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura, Università Degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrea G Capodaglio
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura, Università Degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
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Increasing the Content of Olive Mill Wastewater in Biogas Reactors for a Sustainable Recovery: Methane Productivity and Life Cycle Analyses of the Process. Foods 2021; 10:foods10051029. [PMID: 34068520 PMCID: PMC8150611 DOI: 10.3390/foods10051029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Anaerobic codigestion of olive mill wastewater for renewable energy production constitutes a promising process to overcome management and environmental issues due to their conventional disposal. The present study aims at assessing biogas and biomethane production from olive mill wastewater by performing biochemical methane potential tests. Hence, mixtures containing 0% (blank), 20% and 30% olive mill wastewater, in volume, were experimented on under mesophilic conditions. In addition, life cycle assessment and life cycle costing were performed for sustainability analysis. Particularly, life cycle assessment allowed assessing the potential environmental impact resulting from the tested process, while life cycle costing in conjunction with specific economic indicators allowed performing the economic feasibility analysis. The research highlighted reliable outcomes: higher amounts of biogas (80.22 ± 24.49 NL.kgSV−1) and methane (47.68 ± 17.55 NL.kgSV−1) were obtained when implementing a higher amount of olive mill wastewater (30%) (v/v) in the batch reactors. According to life cycle assessment, the biogas ecoprofile was better when using 20% (v/v) olive mill wastewater. Similarly, the economic results demonstrated the profitability of the process, with better performances when using 20% (v/v) olive mill wastewater. These findings confirm the advantages from using farm and food industry by-products for the production of renewable energy as well as organic fertilizers, which could be used in situ to enhance farm sustainability.
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