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Abeyratne WMLK, Zhang Y, Brewer CE, Nirmalakhandan N. Domestic wastewater sludge valorization: Multi-criteria evaluation of anaerobic digestion vs. hydrothermal liquefaction. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 400:130655. [PMID: 38580168 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130655] [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: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
The emerging hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process is evaluated against the classical anaerobic digestion (AD) processes for stabilizing wastewater sludges and recovering their energy- and nutrient-contents. Although HTL affords faster stabilization, better process stability, and liquid fuel and sterile fertilizer recovery, it suffers from higher energy demand and lower technology readiness level. For a rational comparison of these pathways, a multi-criteria evaluation is conducted considering 21 technical, environmental, economic, and social criteria. Criteria values for the HTL-pathway were derived from laboratory tests while those for the AD-pathway were compiled from literature. Of the 16 process alternatives evaluated, the AD-pathway including nitrogen-recovery by air-stripping and phosphorus recovery by the MEPHREC® process ranked first followed by the HTL-pathway. This multi-criteria study suggests that the HTL-pathway could be engineered as a superior alternative for sludge stabilization and resource recovery if phosphorus recovery and its technology readiness level could be improved.
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Affiliation(s)
- W M L K Abeyratne
- Dept. of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - Y Zhang
- Dept. of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - C E Brewer
- Dept. of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - N Nirmalakhandan
- Dept. of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA.
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Reyes Alva R, Mohr M, Zibek S. Transmembrane Chemical Absorption Process for Recovering Ammonia as an Organic Fertilizer Using Citric Acid as the Trapping Solution. MEMBRANES 2024; 14:102. [PMID: 38786937 PMCID: PMC11123178 DOI: 10.3390/membranes14050102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Membrane contactors are among the available technologies that allow a reduction in the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen released into the environment through a process called transmembrane chemical absorption (TMCA). This process can be operated with different substances acting as trapping solutions; however, strong inorganic acids have been studied the most. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate, at laboratory scale, the performance of citric acid as a capturing solution in TMCA processes for recovering ammonia as an organic fertilizer from anaerobic digestor reject water using membrane contactors in a liquid-liquid configuration and to compare it with the most studied solution, sulfuric acid. The experiments were carried out at 22 °C and 40 °C and with a feed water pH of 10 and 10.5. When the system was operated at pH 10, the rates of recovered ammonia from the feed solution obtained with citric acid were 10.7-16.5 percentage points (pp) lower compared to sulfuric acid, and at pH 10.5, the difference decreased to 5-10 pp. Under all tested conditions, the water vapor transport in the system was lower when using citric acid as the trapping solution, and at pH 10 and 40 °C, it was 5.7 times lower. When estimating the operational costs for scaling up the system, citric acid appears to be a better option than sulfuric acid as a trapping solution, but in both cases, the process was not profitable under the studied conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Reyes Alva
- Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 31, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany;
| | - Marius Mohr
- Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB), Nobelstr. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Susanne Zibek
- Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 31, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany;
- Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB), Nobelstr. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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Serra-Toro A, Abboud YBH, Cardete-Garcia MA, Astals S, Valentino F, Mas F, Dosta J. Ammoniacal nitrogen recovery from swine slurry using a gas-permeable membrane: pH control strategies and feed-to-trapping volume ratio. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024:10.1007/s11356-024-32193-5. [PMID: 38376782 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32193-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology is gaining interest to recover nitrogen from residual effluents due to its effectiveness, simple operation and capacity of producing a nutrient rich product with fertilising value. In this study, a GPM contactor was used at 25 °C to recover total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) from swine slurry as a concentrated (NH4)2SO4 solution. Firstly, a synthetic solution was tested on a wide pH range (6-12). Results showed that the ammonia mass transfer constants (Km) increased from 7.9·10-9 to 1.2·10-6 m/s as the pH increased. The reagent consumption to control the pH per mole nitrogen recovered had a minimum at pH 9, which showed a Km value of 3.0·10-7 m/s. Secondly, various pH control strategies were tested using swine slurry, including (i) no pH control, (ii) pH control at 8.5, 9.0 and 10.0, and (iii) an initial spike of the NaOH equivalent to the required to control the pH at 9. The test without pH control reached a TAN recovery of around 60%, which could be an interesting strategy when high nitrogen recoveries or short operating times are not required. The pH control at 9 stood out as the most favourable operating condition due to its high Km and lower reagent consumption. Thirdly, several feed-to-trapping volume ratios ranging from 1:1 to 15:1 were tested using swine slurry at pH 9. These assays revealed that a GPM process with a high feed-to-trapping volume ratio fastens the recovery of 99% of TAN as a high purity (NH4)2SO4 solution containing 40 g N/L.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreu Serra-Toro
- Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Materials Science and Physical Chemistry Department & Research Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Yasmina Ben Hammou Abboud
- Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Maria Alicia Cardete-Garcia
- Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Sergi Astals
- Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Francesco Valentino
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Mestre-Venice, Italy
| | - Francesc Mas
- Materials Science and Physical Chemistry Department & Research Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTCUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Joan Dosta
- Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Water Research Institute, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
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González-García I, Riaño B, Molinuevo-Salces B, García-González MC. Energy and Nutrients from Apple Waste Using Anaerobic Digestion and Membrane Technology. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:897. [PMID: 36135915 PMCID: PMC9503877 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12090897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The worldwide increment of food waste requires innovative management solutions, aligned with sustainability, energy, and food security. Anaerobic digestion (AD), followed by nutrient recovery, may be considered an interesting approach. This study proposed a co-digestion of apple pomace (AP) with swine manure (SM) to study the effect of different proportions of AP (0, 7.5, 15, and 30%, on a volatile solids (VS) basis) on the methane production and the stability of the process. Subsequently, the gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology was applied to recover nitrogen (N) as ammonium sulfate (bio-based fertilizer) from the digestates produced after the AD of 7.5% of AP and SM, and SM alone. The results showed that the co-digestion of 7.5% and 15% of AP with SM presented a methane production similar to the AD of SM alone (with 412.3 ± 62.6, 381.8 ± 134.1, and 421.7 ± 153.6 mL g VS-1 day-1, respectively). The later application of the GPM technology on the resulting digestates, with SM alone and with 7.5% of AP with SM, showed total ammoniacal N recovery rates of 33 and 25.8 g N m-2 d-1, respectively. Therefore, the AP valorization through the AD process, followed by N recovery from the digestate, could be a good management strategy.
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Fertiliser Effect of Ammonia Recovered from Anaerobically Digested Orange Peel Using Gas-Permeable Membranes. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14137832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The manufacture of mineral N fertilisers by the Haber–Bosch process is highly energy-consuming. The nutrient recovery technologies from wastes through low-cost processes will improve the sustainability of the agricultural systems. This work aimed to assess the suitability of the gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology to recover N from an anaerobic digestate and test the agronomic behaviour of the ammonium sulphate solution (ASS) obtained. About 62% of the total ammonia nitrogen removed from digestate using GPM was recovered, producing an ASS with 14,889 ± 2324 mg N L−1, which was more than six-fold higher than in digestate. The ASS agronomic behaviour was evaluated by a pot experiment with triticale as a plant test for 34 days in a growth chamber. Compared with the triticale fertilised with the Hoagland solution (Hoag), the ASS provided significantly higher biomass production (+29% dry matter), N uptake (+22%), and higher N agronomic efficiency 3.80 compared with 1.81 mg DM mg−1N in Hoag, and a nitrogen fertiliser replacement value of 133%. These increases can be due to a biostimulant effect provided by the organic compounds of the ASS as assessed by the FT-Raman spectroscopy. The ASS can be considered a bio-based mineral N fertiliser with a biostimulant effect.
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Effect of Operational Conditions on Ammonia Recovery from Simulated Livestock Wastewater Using Gas-Permeable Membrane Technology. ENVIRONMENTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/environments9060070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology is a novel alternative to reduce N content in wastewater while recovering N in the form of an ammonium salt solution that can be used as fertilizer. This work aims to elucidate the effects of three operational conditions on the performance of GPM technology for ammonia recovery in batch conditions using synthetic wastewater that simulates livestock wastewater. Firstly, the effect of the ratio of the initial mass of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) per membrane surface from 197 to 936 g N per m2 of membrane was investigated. The highest ratio presented the highest TAN recovery rate (90 g N m−2 d−1). Secondly, the influence of the ratio of the volume of wastewater per volume of acidic trapping solution in the range from 7.8 to 33.3 L L−1 was studied. In this case, the higher the ratio, the higher the N concentration in the trapping solution, achieving a N concentration of 43,773 mg N L−1 with a ratio of 33.3 L L−1. Finally, two different TAN concentrations (<0.1 and 30 g N L−1) in the acidic trapping solution were evaluated. The use of a trapping solution with a TAN concentration of 30 g N L−1 led to a reduction in the TAN recovery rate, which meant that the diffusion of ammonia through the membrane was more difficult as the trapping solution became saturated with TAN. Overall, the tested conditions highly influence the performance of GPM technology, and therefore, these conditions should be set to optimize the ammonia recovery and reduce nitrogen losses.
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Soto-Herranz M, Sánchez-Báscones M, Antolín-Rodríguez JM, Martín-Ramos P. Evaluation of Different Capture Solutions for Ammonia Recovery in Suspended Gas Permeable Membrane Systems. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:membranes12060572. [PMID: 35736280 PMCID: PMC9228927 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12060572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Gas permeable membranes (GPM) are a promising technology for the capture and recovery of ammonia (NH3). The work presented herein assessed the impact of the capture solution and temperature on NH3 recovery for suspended GPM systems, evaluating at a laboratory scale the performance of eight different trapping solutions (water and sulfuric, phosphoric, nitric, carbonic, carbonic, acetic, citric, and maleic acids) at 25 and 2 °C. At 25 °C, the highest NH3 capture efficiency was achieved using strong acids (87% and 77% for sulfuric and nitric acid, respectively), followed by citric and phosphoric acid (65%) and water (62%). However, a remarkable improvement was observed for phosphoric acid (+15%), citric acid (+16%), maleic acid (+22%), and water (+12%) when the capture solution was at 2 °C. The economic analysis showed that water would be the cheapest option at any working temperature, with costs of 2.13 and 2.52 €/g N (vs. 3.33 and 3.43 €/g N for sulfuric acid) in the winter and summer scenarios, respectively. As for phosphoric and citric acid, they could be promising NH3 trapping solutions in the winter months, with associated costs of 3.20 and 3.96 €/g N, respectively. Based on capture performance and economic and environmental considerations, the reported findings support that water, phosphoric acid, and citric acid can be viable alternatives to the strong acids commonly used as NH3 adsorbents in these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Soto-Herranz
- Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, ETSIIAA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain; (M.S.-B.); (J.M.A.-R.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Mercedes Sánchez-Báscones
- Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, ETSIIAA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain; (M.S.-B.); (J.M.A.-R.)
| | - Juan Manuel Antolín-Rodríguez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, ETSIIAA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain; (M.S.-B.); (J.M.A.-R.)
| | - Pablo Martín-Ramos
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), EPS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Carretera de Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain;
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