Comparison of Nutrient-Release Strategies in Hydrothermally Treated Digested Sewage Sludge

This work studies the fate of nutrients (N, P, and K) during the hydrothermal treatment of anaerobically digested sewage sludge to raise their concentrations in the liquid phase and facilitate their recovery as solid minerals by chemical precipitation. The hydrothermal process has been optimized by...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sarrión Pérez, Andrés, Berge, Nicole D., Rubia Romero, María de los Ángeles de la, Fernández Mohedano, Ángel, Díaz Nieto, Elena
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/710251
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/710251
https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05870
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:biomass valorization
digested sewage sludge
hydrochar
hydrothermal carbonization
nutrient solubilization
Ingeniería Industrial
Química
Descripción
Sumario:This work studies the fate of nutrients (N, P, and K) during the hydrothermal treatment of anaerobically digested sewage sludge to raise their concentrations in the liquid phase and facilitate their recovery as solid minerals by chemical precipitation. The hydrothermal process has been optimized by evaluating the temperature (170-230 °C) and reaction time (5-60 min) in an acid-free medium or with the addition of HCl (0.1-0.5 M). In the acid-free hydrothermal reactions, nutrients were mainly concentrated in the hydrochar, which were extracted with 0.5 M HCl (10% w/v). Following this route, 6.9 g N/kg, 13.8 g P/kg, and 8.8 g K/kg contained in the feedstock were extracted from the hydrochar produced at 230 °C, which, considering direct nutrient solubilization to process water by acid-free hydrothermal treatments, accounts for 82, 83, and 78% N, P, and K release, respectively. In the HCl-assisted hydrothermal treatment, the release of nutrients directly into the process water was improved and depended mainly on the acid concentration used and to a lesser extent on the reaction temperature. Operating at 230 °C and 0.5 M HCl, the release of 98% N (more than 45% as NH4-N), 87% P (as PO4-P), and 70% K contained in the feedstock was achieved in the process water. Chemical precipitation of phosphorus and nitrogen from the process water allowed the recovery of a solid identified as crystalline struvite, with high contents in P, Mg, and NH4-N and negligible heavy-metal content. The estimated cost of digested sewage sludge treatment could reach 13.7 euros per tonne, considering the energy inputs required in the hydrothermal treatment