Fertilizer demand and potential supply through nutrient recovery from organic waste digestate in California

A Critical Review of Data Science Applications in Resource Recovery and Carbon Capture from Organic Waste

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.

Evaluation of anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating dairy processing wastewater: Elemental flow, bioenergy production and reduction of CO2 emission

The management of dairy processing wastewater (DPW) must address water pollution while delivering renewable energy and recovering resources. A high-rate anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) was investigated for treating DPW, and the system was evaluated in terms of elemental flow, nutrient recovery, energy balance, and reduction of CO2 emission. The AnMBR system was superior in terms of both methanogenic performance and efficiency of bioenergy recovery in the DPW treatment, with a high net energy potential of 51.4-53.2 kWh/m3. The theoretical economic values of the digestate (13.8 $/m3) and permeate (4.1 $/m3) were assessed according to nutrient transformation and price of mineral fertilizer. The total CO2 emission equivalent in the AnMBR was 44.7 kg CO2-eq/m3, with a significant reduction of 54.1 kg CO2-eq/m3 compared to the conventional process. The application of the AnMBR in the DPW treatment is a promising approach for the development of carbon neutrality and a circular economy.

Investigation of the direct utilization possibility of methane fermentation residue sludge as liquid fertilizer by micronization

For establishing a sustainable society, it is crucial to reuse the organic waste as a material resource. Therefore, herein, we aim to pulverize the methane fermentation residue sludge by ball milling and high-speed agitation to directly utilize it as a liquid fertilizer. The solid particles in the sludge can be below 100 µm, corresponding to the nozzle diameter of the boom sprayer by both ball milling and high-speed agitation; when ball milling was carried out for at least 1 h, the ratio of coarse particles larger than 100 µm decreased by less than 10%. In addition, the phosphate-ion concentration in the sludge increased with a decrease in the particle size of solid in the sludge mainly due to increase in its specific surface area. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of various experimental conditions for ball milling on the pulverization efficiency. Results suggests that for grinding the soft solid particles in the sludge by ball milling, the volume ratio of the total medium balls and sludge, total volumes of the balls and sludge, and inner pot volume should be larger, while the ratio of the rotation speed to the critical rotation speed should be almost the same as those reported previously in the reports on grinding of inorganic particles to attain an effective pulverization.

Nutrient recovery from municipal solid waste leachate in the scope of circular economy: Recent developments and future perspectives

Holistically considering the current situation of the commercial synthetic fertilizer (CSF) market, recent global developments, and future projection studies, dependency on CSFs in agricultural production born significant risks, especially to the food security of foreign-dependent countries. The foreign dependency of countries in terms of CSFs can be reduced by the concepts such as the circular economy and resource recovery. Recently, waste streams are considered as a source in order to produce recovery-based fertilizers (RBF). RBFs produced from different waste streams can be substituted with CSFs as input for agricultural applications. Municipal solid waste leachate (MSWL) is one of the waste streams that have a high potential for RBF production. Distribution of the published papers over the years shows that this potential was noticed by more researchers in the millennium. MSWL contains a remarkable amount of nitrogen and phosphorus which are the main nutrients required for agricultural production. These nutrients can be recovered with many different methods such as microalgae cultivation, chemical precipitation, ammonia stripping, membrane separation, etc. MSWL can be generated within the different phases of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. Although it is mainly composed of landfill leachate (LL), composting plant leachate (CPL), incineration plant leachate (IPL), and transfer station leachate (TSL) should be considered as potential sources to produce RBF. This study compiles studies conducted on MSWL from the perspective of nitrogen and phosphorus recovery. Moreover, recent developments and limitations of the subject were extensively discussed and future perspectives were introduced by considering the entire MSW management. Investigated studies in this review showed that the potential of MSWL to produce RBF is significant. The outcomes of this paper will serve the countries for ensuring their food security by implementing the resource recovery concept to produce RBF. Thus, the risks born with the recent global developments could be overcome in this way besides the positive environmental outcomes of resource recovery.

Effects of digestate-encapsulated biochar on plant growth, soil microbiome and nitrogen leaching

The increasing amount of food waste and the excessive use of mineral fertilizers have caused detrimental impacts on soil, water, and air quality. Though digestate derived from food waste has been reported to partially replace fertilizer, its efficiency requires further improvement. In this study, the effects of digestate-encapsulated biochar were comprehensively investigated based on growth of an ornamental plant, soil characteristics, nutrient leaching and soil microbiome. Results showed that except for biochar, the tested fertilizers and soil additives, i.e., digestate, compost, commercial fertilizer, digestate-encapsulated biochar had positive effects on plants. Especially, the digestate-encapsulated biochar had the best effectiveness as evidenced by 9-25% increase in chlorophyll content index, fresh weight, leaf area and blossom frequency. For the effects of fertilizers or soil additives on soil characteristics and nutrient retention, the digestate-encapsulated biochar leached least N-nutrients (<8%), while the compost, digestate and mineral fertilizer leached up to 25% N-nutrients. All the treatments had minimal effects on the soil properties of pH and electrical conductivity. According to the microbial analysis, the digestate-encapsulated biochar has the comparable role with compost in improving the soil immune system against pathogen infection. The metagenomics coupling with qPCR analysis suggested that digestate-encapsulated biochar boosted the nitrification process and inhibited the denitrification process. This study provides an extensive understanding into the impacts of the digestate-encapsulated biochar on an ornamental plant and offers practical implications for the choice of sustainable fertilizers or soil additives and food-waste digestate management.

Co-digestion of cow manure and food waste for biogas enhancement and nutrients revival in bio-circular economy

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) with suitable substrate ratios may have the potential to improve biogas process and could play a better role in nutrient management for biocircular economy. The goal of this study was to enhance biogas yield from AcoD of cow manure (CM) and canteen food waste (CFW), and pertinent co-digestion of suitable substrate ratios for nutrient management i. e NPK from linear to biocircular economy, using ruminant intestinal fluid as a source of inoculum. A mesophilic (37 ± 1 °C) laboratory-scale AcoD with varying CFW/CM ratios of (0:1, 1:4, 2:3, 1:1, 3:2, 4:1, and 1:0) based on wet weight was performed. The AcoD systems of different CFW/CM ratios were evaluated with a loading rate of 400 g/L in the presence of 100 g cow intestinal fluid (CIF) inoculation. All experimental AcoD systems yielded greater biogas (147-300 cm3/g VS) than the mono-digestion in which only CM (135 cm3/g VS) and CFW (146 cm3/g VS) were digested anaerobically. The AcoD system of CFW/CM with 4:1 showed the highest biogas yield (300 cm3/g VS), and VS and COD reduction rate (39.51% and 65.15%, respectively), and nutrient contents (6.53%). Moreover, the experiment results were verified by modified Gompertz model. This work provided a window of opportunity to examine the anaerobic co-digestion technology beyond biogas production and to put the current low-cost technology to use for nutrient management and as a better component of the biocircular economy for agriculture in Pakistan in order to achieve sustainable development goals.

Environmental and Economic Impacts of Managing Nutrients in Digestate Derived from Sewage Sludge and High-Strength Organic Waste

Increasingly stringent limits on nutrient discharges are motivating water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) to consider the implementation of sidestream nutrient removal or recovery technologies. To further increase biogas production and reduce landfilled waste, WRRFs with excess anaerobic digestion capacity can accept other high-strength organic waste (HSOW) streams. The goal of this study was to characterize and evaluate the life-cycle global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential, and economic costs and benefits of sidestream nutrient management and biosolid management strategies following digestion of sewage sludge augmented by HSOW. Five sidestream nutrient management strategies were analyzed using environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for codigestion of municipal sewage sludge with and without HSOW. As expected, thermal stripping and ammonia stripping were characterized by a much lower eutrophication potential than no sidestream treatment; significantly higher fertilizer prices would be needed for this revenue stream to cover the capital and chemical costs. Composting all biosolids dramatically reduced the GWP relative to the baseline biosolid option but had slightly higher eutrophication potential. These complex environmental and economic tradeoffs require utilities to consider their social, environmental, and economic values in addition to present or upcoming nutrient discharge limits prior to making decisions in sidestream and biosolids management.

Microalgae-Enabled Wastewater Remediation and Nutrient Recovery through Membrane Photobioreactors: Recent Achievements and Future Perspective

The use of microalgae for wastewater remediation and nutrient recovery answers the call for a circular bioeconomy, which involves waste resource utilization and ecosystem protection. The integration of microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment has been proposed as a promising strategy to tackle the issues of water and energy source depletions. Specifically, microalgae-enabled wastewater treatment offers an opportunity to simultaneously implement wastewater remediation and valuable biomass production. As a versatile technology, membrane-based processes have been increasingly explored for the integration of microalgae-based wastewater remediation. This review provides a literature survey and discussion of recent progressions and achievements made in the development of membrane photobioreactors (MPBRs) for wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery. The opportunities of using microalgae-based wastewater treatment as an interesting option to manage effluents that contain high levels of nutrients are explored. The innovations made in the design of membrane photobioreactors and their performances are evaluated. The achievements pave a way for the effective and practical implementation of membrane technology in large-scale microalgae-enabled wastewater remediation and nutrient recovery processes.

Recovery of Nutrients from Residual Streams Using Ion-Exchange Membranes: Current State, Bottlenecks, Fundamentals and Innovations

The review describes the place of membrane methods in solving the problem of the recovery and re-use of biogenic elements (nutrients), primarily trivalent nitrogen N^III and pentavalent phosphorus P^V, to provide the sustainable development of mankind. Methods for the recovery of NH₄⁺ − NH₃ and phosphates from natural sources and waste products of humans and animals, as well as industrial streams, are classified. Particular attention is paid to the possibilities of using membrane processes for the transition to a circular economy in the field of nutrients. The possibilities of different methods, already developed or under development, are evaluated, primarily those that use ion-exchange membranes. Electromembrane methods take a special place including capacitive deionization and electrodialysis applied for recovery, separation, concentration, and reagent-free pH shift of solutions. This review is distinguished by the fact that it summarizes not only the successes, but also the “bottlenecks” of ion-exchange membrane-based processes. Modern views on the mechanisms of NH₄⁺ − NH₃ and phosphate transport in ion-exchange membranes in the presence and in the absence of an electric field are discussed. The innovations to enhance the performance of electromembrane separation processes for phosphate and ammonium recovery are considered.