Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization

Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Huezo Sanchez, Luis
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2020
Subjects:
Agricultural Engineering
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Environmental Engineering
Sustainability
hydrothermal carbonization
anaerobic digestion
hydrochar
techno-economic analysis
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1587121997256614
id ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1587121997256614
record_format oai_dc
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Agricultural Engineering
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Environmental Engineering
Sustainability
hydrothermal carbonization
anaerobic digestion
hydrochar
techno-economic analysis
spellingShingle Agricultural Engineering
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Environmental Engineering
Sustainability
hydrothermal carbonization
anaerobic digestion
hydrochar
techno-economic analysis
Huezo Sanchez, Luis
Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
author Huezo Sanchez, Luis
author_facet Huezo Sanchez, Luis
author_sort Huezo Sanchez, Luis
title Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
title_short Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
title_full Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
title_fullStr Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
title_full_unstemmed Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
title_sort technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2020
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1587121997256614
work_keys_str_mv AT huezosanchezluis technicaleconomicandcarbondioxideemissionanalysesofmanaginganaerobicallydigestedsewagesludgethroughhydrothermalcarbonization
_version_ 1719457181748690944
spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu15871219972566142021-08-03T07:14:29Z Technical, economic, and carbon dioxide emission analyses of managing anaerobically digested sewage sludge through hydrothermal carbonization Huezo Sanchez, Luis Agricultural Engineering Agriculture Alternative Energy Environmental Engineering Sustainability hydrothermal carbonization anaerobic digestion hydrochar techno-economic analysis Sewage sludge is the solid byproduct from wastewater treatment plants, and some of it is treated by anaerobic digestion (AD), which is a biological method that produces biogas and an AD effluent (ADE). Biogas is typically used for energy and heat. Anaerobic digestion effluent has a high concentration of microbes, nutrients, carbon, and water. It is typically dewatered, and its fates include incineration, landfilling, composting, or application to agricultural fields; in all these options, ADE needs to be transported. The storage and transportation of ADE have environmental impacts on water, soil, and air. Dewatering ADE is energy and cost intensive. A viable alternative to process ADE could be thermochemical methods, such as hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), that can treat ADE at high temperatures and pressures without the need to remove the water. HTC produces a carbonized char-like material called hydrochar with potential uses as solid fuel and soil amendment. Hydrochar as soil amendment has the potential to improve the properties of the soil and crop yield. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of producing hydrochar through HTC of ADE from sewage sludge and analyze its use as soil amendment.Hydrothermal carbonization of ADE from sewage sludge was conducted between 180 and 260°C for a residence time between 30 and 70 minutes following a central composite design. The process parameters evaluated were temperature, time, and feedstock pH; the response variables included hydrochar and liquor yields and properties. The produced hydrochar was used as soil amendment at 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 g per kg of soil. Seedling flats were filled with the char-soil mixtures, and lettuce seeds were planted and placed in a greenhouse. Soil and plant responses, such as nutrient retention, seed germination, and biomass production were analyzed based on char sources and rates. To scale-up the combined AD-HTC system to a sewage input flow of 15 ton hr-1, the process was modeled and a techno-economic analysis was performed with data from wastewater treatment plants, equipment and process conditions; properties of feedstock, intermediates, and final products; and cost of feedstock, materials, equipment, and utilities. The direct carbon dioxide emissions of the combined AD-HTC system were estimated. Temperature was the most influential parameter in producing hydrochar. Higher temperatures resulted in lower hydrochar yields, higher ash contents, and a more carbonized material. Soil amended with hydrochar had higher pH, phosphorus content, and cation exchange capacity compared to soil with no amendment. Lettuce emergence rates in soils amended with hydrochar were similar and higher compared to pyrochar and no-char. All dry weights from roots, leaves, and whole plants for amended soils were greater than those for no-char. When the combined AD-HTC system was scaled-up, the capital investment was calculated to be ~US$36 million, with a payback time of less than six years, internal rate of return of ~12%, and an operating cost of ~US$1,300 ton-1 of hydrochar. The direct carbon dioxide emissions of the combined AD-HTC system decreased compared to scenarios without AD or HTC to manage sewage sludge. In conclusion, the production of hydrochar from sewage sludge through a combined AD-HTC system has the potential to be technically, economically, and environmentally feasible and to be implemented in the current wastewater treatment plants. 2020-09-21 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1587121997256614 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1587121997256614 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

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