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Energetic and environmental sustainability of the co-digestion of sludge with bio-waste in a life cycle perspective

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  • Di Maria, Francesco
  • Micale, Caterina
  • Contini, Stefano

Abstract

The integrated management of sludge and bio-waste by co-digestion and composting were investigated in a life cycle perspective. The working operations of a full-scale digester of an existing wastewater treatment plant for waste-mixed sludge (WMS) stabilization were reproduced using a pilot-scale apparatus. The effect of WMS co-digested with fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) was investigated at different organic loading rates (OLR), from 1.46kgVS/m3day to 2.8kgVS/m3day, and at reduced hydraulic retention time, from 14days to about 10days. Methane production per unit of digester volume increased from about 140NL/m3day to a maximum of about 900NL/m3day when OLR was increased from 1.46kgVS/m3day to 2.1kgVS/m3day. The maximum electrical energy producible from the full-scale anaerobic facility was about 3,500,000kWh/year. In these conditions the electrical power output and the net efficiency of the co-generator were 470kW and 37%, respectively. The life cycle analysis study highlighted the benefits achievable in terms of avoided resource depletion and ozone depletion potential. The best environmental performances were for an ORL of 2.1kgVS/m3day.

Suggested Citation

  • Di Maria, Francesco & Micale, Caterina & Contini, Stefano, 2016. "Energetic and environmental sustainability of the co-digestion of sludge with bio-waste in a life cycle perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 67-76.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:171:y:2016:i:c:p:67-76
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.03.036
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    2. Lam, Chor Man & Hsu, Shu-Chien & Alvarado, Valeria & Li, Wing Man, 2020. "Integrated life-cycle data envelopment analysis for techno-environmental performance evaluation on sludge-to-energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    3. Di Maria, Francesco & Sisani, Federico & Lasagni, Marzio & Borges, Marisa Soares & Gonzales, Thiago H., 2018. "Replacement of energy crops with bio-waste in existing anaerobic digestion plants: An energetic and environmental analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 202-213.
    4. Cheng, Jun & Ding, Lingkan & Lin, Richen & Yue, Liangchen & Liu, Jianzhong & Zhou, Junhu & Cen, Kefa, 2016. "Fermentative biohydrogen and biomethane co-production from mixture of food waste and sewage sludge: Effects of physiochemical properties and mix ratios on fermentation performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Huang, Bao-Cheng & Lu, Yan & Li, Wen-Wei, 2020. "Exploiting the energy potential of municipal wastewater in China by incorporating tailored anaerobic treatment processes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 534-540.

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