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Guerra-Gorostegi N, González D, Puyuelo B, Ovejero J, Colón J, Gabriel D, Sánchez A, Ponsá S. Biomass fuel production from cellulosic sludge through biodrying: Aeration strategies, quality of end-products, gaseous emissions and techno-economic assessment. Waste Manag 2021; 126:487-496. [PMID: 33838388 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.03.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
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 techno-economic 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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Affiliation(s)
- N Guerra-Gorostegi
- BETA Technological Center, Science and Technology Faculty, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D González
- Composting Research Group (GICOM), Dept. of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Group of Biological Treatment of Liquid and Gaseous Effluents (GENOCOV), Dept. of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - B Puyuelo
- BETA Technological Center, Science and Technology Faculty, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Ovejero
- BETA Technological Center, Science and Technology Faculty, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Colón
- BETA Technological Center, Science and Technology Faculty, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Gabriel
- Group of Biological Treatment of Liquid and Gaseous Effluents (GENOCOV), Dept. of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Sánchez
- Composting Research Group (GICOM), Dept. of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - S Ponsá
- BETA Technological Center, Science and Technology Faculty, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain.
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Puyuelo B, Gea T, Sánchez A. GHG emissions during the high-rate production of compost using standard and advanced aeration strategies. Chemosphere 2014; 109:64-70. [PMID: 24873708 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.02.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2013] [Revised: 02/11/2014] [Accepted: 02/12/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we have evaluated different strategies for the optimization of the aeration during the active thermophilic stage of the composting process of source-selected Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (or biowaste) using reactors at bench scale (50L). These strategies include: typical cyclic aeration, oxygen feedback controller and a new self-developed controller based on the on-line maximization of the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) during the process. Results highlight differences found in the emission of most representative greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from composting (methane and nitrous oxide) as well as in gases typically related to composting odor problems (ammonia as typical example). Specifically, the cyclic controller presents emissions that can double that of OUR controller, whereas oxygen feedback controller shows a better performance with respect to the cyclic controller. A new parameter, the respiration index efficiency, is presented to quantitatively evaluate the GHG emissions and, in consequence, the main negative environmental impact of the composting process. Other aspects such as the stability of the compost produced and the consumption of resources are also evaluated for each controller.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Puyuelo
- Composting Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08913-Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - T Gea
- Composting Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08913-Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Sánchez
- Composting Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08913-Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
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