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Sewage Sludge as a Biotechnological Raw Material: Properties, Transformations, and Applications

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 April 2021) | Viewed by 11971

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sergio Collado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, E33071 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: thermal hydrolysis; advanced oxidation processes; industrial wastewaters; sludge valorization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is an environmental problem of prime concern due to its high organic load, low dewaterability, large volumes generated, and the tightening of environmental quality standards. Therefore, its comprehensive management is a key point to reduce the operating costs and make wastewater treatment a more environmentally-friendly process.

Traditionally, sludge management options have included land application (with or without previous composting), landfilling or energy recovery. Nevertheless, these options present serious limitations on their use. For instance, land application has to compete with other waste streams, the demand is variable, and the legislation around this topic is becoming increasingly strict, whereas landfilling is an unsustainable outlet due to concerns over pollution, loss of recyclable materials, and loss of void for those wastes which cannot be recycled. Meanwhile, incineration is a high cost option, only cost-effective for large cities, and with a poor level of public acceptability due to concerns over gas emissions.

In the light of the above, the need to develop new sludge management strategies becomes clear. Today, new perspectives in this topic are being accessed, especially those focused on recovering valuable compounds. In fact, sludge is now recognized as one of the future key raw materials, as stated in the Bio-Based Industries (BBI) European strategy.

With this in mind, the aim of this Special Issue of Sustainability is to collect either outstanding research articles or reviews related to the potential use of sewage sludge as renewable source for resource recovery. In this regard, either the development of different strategies for the production of new products from sludge or the proposal of uses for these products and the analysis of their technical, economic, and environmental feasibility will be highly appreciated by the Editorial Board.

Prof. Dr. Sergio Collado
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • circular economy
  • resource recovery
  • sludge management
  • wastewater treatment plants

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3537 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of Biogas Production via Co-Digestion of Wastewater Treatment Sewage Sludge and Brewery Spent Grain: Physicochemical Characterization and Microbial Community
by Khuthadzo Mudzanani, Esta van Heerden, Ryneth Mbhele and Michael O. Daramola
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158225 - 23 Jul 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2850
Abstract
The present study intends to evaluate a synergy towards enhanced biogas production by co-digesting municipal sewage sludge (SS) with brewery spent grain (BSG). To execute this, physicochemical and metagenomics analysis was conducted on the sewage sludge substrate. The automatic methane potential test system [...] Read more.
The present study intends to evaluate a synergy towards enhanced biogas production by co-digesting municipal sewage sludge (SS) with brewery spent grain (BSG). To execute this, physicochemical and metagenomics analysis was conducted on the sewage sludge substrate. The automatic methane potential test system II (AMPTS II) biochemical methane potential (BMP) batch setup was operated at 35 ± 5 °C, pH range of 6.5–7.5 for 30 days’ digestion time on AMPTS II and 150 days on semi-continuous setup, where the organic loading rate (OLR) was guided by pH and the volatile fatty acids to total alkalinity (VFA/TA) ratio. Metagenomics analysis revealed that Proteobacteria was the most abundant phyla, consisting of hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria. The archaea community of hydrogenotrophic methanogen genus was enriched by methanogens. The highest BMP was obtained with co-digestion of SS and BSG, and 9.65 g/kg of VS. This not only increased biogas production by 104% but also accelerated the biodegradation of organic matters. However, a significant reduction in the biogas yield, from 10.23 NL/day to 2.02 NL/day, was observed in a semi-continuous process. As such, it can be concluded that different species in different types of sludge can synergistically enhance the production of biogas. However, the operating conditions should be optimized and monitored at all times. The anaerobic co-digestion of SS and BSG might be considered as a cost-effective solution that could contribute to the energy self-efficiency of wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) and sustainable waste management. It is recommended to upscale co-digestion of the feed for the pilot biogas plant. This will also go a long way in curtailing and minimizing the impacts of sludge disposal in the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sewage Sludge as a Biotechnological Raw Material: Properties, Transformations, and Applications)
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11 pages, 1839 KiB  
Article
Continuous Thermal Stripping Process for Ammonium Removal from Digestate and Centrate
by Harold Leverenz, Russel Adams, Jessica Hazard and George Tchobanoglous
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2185; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042185 - 18 Feb 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3326
Abstract
The state of California has passed legislation to divert organic materials from landfills to reduce the emission of methane to the atmosphere. A large amount of this source separated organic (SSO) material is expected to be used as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion [...] Read more.
The state of California has passed legislation to divert organic materials from landfills to reduce the emission of methane to the atmosphere. A large amount of this source separated organic (SSO) material is expected to be used as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion processes. Based on a review of properties for likely SSO feedstocks, it is clear that while SSO are high in volatile solids, they are also concentrated sources of nutrients (principally, ammonium). When SSO feedstocks are digested, these nutrients are released into the digestate, where ammonium can cause problems both within the digester and in downstream treatment processes. The focus of this paper is on the performance of two pilot studies designed to remove ammonia from a digester effluent. The process used in the study is a thermal stripping column with tray configuration, operating under a vacuum. In the first study, food waste digestate was treated as a slurry in the stripping column with and without NaOH addition. At process temperatures near 90 °C, the performance with and without caustic was similar. In the second study, centrate from a co-digestion facility, that blends food processing waste with wastewater process solids, was treated in the same thermal stripping column under the same conditions and without chemical addition. The results from both studies, which can be described using the same performance curves, are presented and discussed in this paper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sewage Sludge as a Biotechnological Raw Material: Properties, Transformations, and Applications)
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19 pages, 3569 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Porous Biochars by the Co-Pyrolysis of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Hazelnut Shells and the Mechanism of the Nano-Zinc Oxide Composite and Cu(II) Adsorption Kinetics
by Xi Chen, Ran Zhang, Bing Zhao, Guangjian Fan, Haibo Li, Xinyang Xu and Mingchuan Zhang
Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8668; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208668 - 19 Oct 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2976
Abstract
Municipal sewage sludge (MSS) and hazelnut shells were selected for co-pyrolysis and chemically activated with K2CO3 in a N2 atmosphere. The biochar was then modified by photocatalysis. Hazelnut shells, as a solid waste, were selected as a carbon source [...] Read more.
Municipal sewage sludge (MSS) and hazelnut shells were selected for co-pyrolysis and chemically activated with K2CO3 in a N2 atmosphere. The biochar was then modified by photocatalysis. Hazelnut shells, as a solid waste, were selected as a carbon source additive because of its high cellulose content and similar structure to natural wood. Using hazelnut shells could increase the specific surface area, enhance the porosity, and improve the adsorption capacity of the biochar. Hazelnut shells could also reduce the content of heavy metals in the raw biochar materials, along with increasing the ecological security of biochar and contributing to its further development and utilization. FTIR was used to study the changes in the functional groups on the biochar surface. The layered porous structure of the biochar was observed by SEM. The Cu(II) adsorption capacity of the biochar was 42.28 mg/g after 24 h. The Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models effectively described Cu(II) adsorption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sewage Sludge as a Biotechnological Raw Material: Properties, Transformations, and Applications)
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Review

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37 pages, 670 KiB  
Review
Non-Energetic Chemical Products by Fermentation of Hydrolyzed Sewage Sludge
by Manuel García, Paula Oulego, Mario Díaz and Sergio Collado
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5499; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105499 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1978
Abstract
Hydrolysis and the solubilization of sewage sludge processes are important tools to obtain small and medium molecules with different application perspectives. Although the production of biomethane and other products such as biohydrogen from sludge as biofuel alternatives has been profusely studied, the current [...] Read more.
Hydrolysis and the solubilization of sewage sludge processes are important tools to obtain small and medium molecules with different application perspectives. Although the production of biomethane and other products such as biohydrogen from sludge as biofuel alternatives has been profusely studied, the current perspectives are mainly focused on the use of the sludge hydrolysate to produce non-energy bioproducts and biomaterials. In this review, the most recent bibliography dealing with the use of sludge hydrolysates as fermentation media for the bioproduction of new non-energetic products with industrial interest is here revised and discussed. In this regard, the main research effort has been focused on the bioproduction of short-chain fatty acids due to their direct use in industrial applications or as a carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoates-producing microorganisms. The use of sludge hydrolysates as fermentation media using pure cultures to produce more complex biomolecules, such as enzymes or lipids, is gaining interest, but it remains an undervalued topic. The literature has been divided into processes where hydrolysis and fermentation stages took place simultaneously or separately, centering them on the effect of the main operational conditions on the yields and properties of the corresponding metabolites produced. In general, the main limiting step of these kinds of processes is the proper solubilization and hydrolysis of the sludge, which can improve the bioassimilation of nutrients and, subsequently, the productivities and compositions of the metabolites obtained. Biological and/or thermal pretreaments are the options more profusely employed, which are frequently assisted by different promoters such as oxidants, surfactants, or cation exchange resins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sewage Sludge as a Biotechnological Raw Material: Properties, Transformations, and Applications)
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