Environmental and economic evaluation of implementing membrane technologies and struvite crystallisation to recover nutrients from anaerobic digestion supernatant

The present study investigates the environmental and economic feasibility of implementing membrane technologies and struvite crystallisation (SC) for nutrient recovery from the anaerobic digestion supernatant. To this end, one scenario combining partial-nitritation/Anammox and SC was compared with t...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Vinardell Cruañas, Sergi|||0000-0002-1976-9528, Cortina Pallás, José Luis|||0000-0002-3719-5118, Valderrama Ángel, César Alberto|||0000-0001-6711-8183
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/396346
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/396346
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129326
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Saline water conversion
Aigua salada -- Dessalatge
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química
Descripción
Sumario:The present study investigates the environmental and economic feasibility of implementing membrane technologies and struvite crystallisation (SC) for nutrient recovery from the anaerobic digestion supernatant. To this end, one scenario combining partial-nitritation/Anammox and SC was compared with three scenarios combining membrane technologies and SC. The combination of ultrafiltration, SC and liquid–liquid membrane contactor (LLMC) was the less environmentally impactful scenario. SC and LLMC were the most important environmental and economic contributors in those scenarios using membrane technologies. The economic evaluation illustrated that combining ultrafiltration, SC and LLMC (with or without reverse osmosis pre-concentration) featured the lowest net cost. The sensitivity analysis highlighted that the consumption of chemicals for nutrient recovery and the ammonium sulphate recovered had a large impact on environmental and economic balances. Overall, these results demonstrate that implementing membrane technologies and SC for nutrient recovery can improve the economic and environmental implications of future municipal wastewater treatment plants.