IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i7p1708-d341274.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Nordin

    (Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden)

  • Anna Strandberg

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

  • Sana Elbashir

    (Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden)

  • Lars-Erik Åmand

    (Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden)

  • Nils Skoglund

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

  • Anita Pettersson

    (Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden)

Abstract

Phosphorus has been identified as a critical element by the European Union and recycling efforts are increasingly common. An important phosphorus-containing waste stream for recycling is municipal sewage sludge (MSS), which is used directly as fertilizer to farmland. However, it contains pollutants such as heavy metals, pharmaceutical residues, polychlorinated bi-phenyls (PCBs) and nano-plastics. The interest in combustion of MSS is continuously growing, as it both reduces the volume as well as destroys the organic materials and could separate certain heavy metals from the produced ashes. This results in ashes with a potential for either direct use as fertilizer or as a suitable feedstock for upgrading processes. The aim of this study was to investigate co-combustion of MSS and biomass to create a phosphorus-rich bottom ash with a low heavy metal content. A laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor in addition to an 8 MWth grate-boiler was used for the experimental work. The concentration of phosphorus and selected heavy metals in the bottom ashes were compared to European Union regulation on fertilizers, ash application to Swedish forests and Swedish regulations on sewage sludge application to farmland. Element concentrations were determined by ICP-AES complemented by analysis of spatial distribution with SEM-EDS and XRD analysis to determine crystalline compounds. The results show that most of the phosphorus was retained in the bottom ash, corresponding to 9–16 wt.% P 2 O 5 , while the concentration of cadmium, mercury, lead and zinc was below the limits of the regulations. However, copper, chromium and nickel concentrations exceeded these standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Nordin & Anna Strandberg & Sana Elbashir & Lars-Erik Åmand & Nils Skoglund & Anita Pettersson, 2020. "Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-24, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:7:p:1708-:d:341274
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/7/1708/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/7/1708/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiao, Zhihua & Yuan, Xingzhong & Jiang, Longbo & Chen, Xiaohong & Li, Hui & Zeng, Guangming & Leng, Lijian & Wang, Hou & Huang, Huajun, 2015. "Energy recovery and secondary pollutant emission from the combustion of co-pelletized fuel from municipal sewage sludge and wood sawdust," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 441-450.
    2. Syed-Hassan, Syed Shatir A. & Wang, Yi & Hu, Song & Su, Sheng & Xiang, Jun, 2017. "Thermochemical processing of sewage sludge to energy and fuel: Fundamentals, challenges and considerations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 888-913.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Izabella Maj, 2022. "Significance and Challenges of Poultry Litter and Cattle Manure as Sustainable Fuels: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Coskun, Can & Oktay, Zuhal & Koksal, Tunc & Birecikli, Bahadır, 2020. "Co-combustion of municipal dewatered sewage sludge and natural gas in an actual power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    3. Marzena Smol & Christian Adam & Stefan Anton Kugler, 2020. "Thermochemical Treatment of Sewage Sludge Ash (SSA)—Potential and Perspective in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Naeimeh Vali & Lars-Erik Åmand & Aurélie Combres & Tobias Richards & Anita Pettersson, 2021. "Pyrolysis of Municipal Sewage Sludge to Investigate Char and Phosphorous Yield together with Heavy-Metal Removal—Experimental and by Thermodynamic Calculations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Izabella Maj & Sylwester Kalisz & Szymon Ciukaj, 2022. "Properties of Animal-Origin Ash—A Valuable Material for Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Piotr Sakiewicz & Krzysztof Piotrowski & Mariola Rajca & Izabella Maj & Sylwester Kalisz & Józef Ober & Janusz Karwot & Krishna R. Pagilla, 2022. "Innovative Technological Approach for the Cyclic Nutrients Adsorption by Post-Digestion Sewage Sludge-Based Ash Co-Formed with Some Nanostructural Additives under a Circular Economy Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-28, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ma, Jiao & Mu, Lan & Zhang, Zhikun & Wang, Zhuozhi & Shen, Boxiong & Zhang, Lei & Li, Aimin, 2020. "The effects of the modification of biodegradation and the interaction of bulking agents on the combustion characteristics of biodried products derived from municipal organic wastes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    2. Shahbeig, Hossein & Nosrati, Mohsen, 2020. "Pyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge for bioenergy production: Thermo-kinetic studies, evolved gas analysis, and techno-socio-economic assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    3. Siti Zaharah Roslan & Siti Fairuz Zainudin & Alijah Mohd Aris & Khor Bee Chin & Mohibah Musa & Ahmad Rafizan Mohamad Daud & Syed Shatir A. Syed Hassan, 2023. "Hydrothermal Carbonization of Sewage Sludge into Solid Biofuel: Influences of Process Conditions on the Energetic Properties of Hydrochar," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Juan A. Conesa, 2021. "Sewage Sludge as Inhibitor of the Formation of Persistent Organic Pollutants during Incineration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Xuyang Cui & Junhong Yang & Xinyu Shi & Wanning Lei & Tao Huang & Chao Bai, 2019. "Experimental Investigation on the Energy Consumption, Physical, and Thermal Properties of a Novel Pellet Fuel Made from Wood Residues with Microalgae as a Binder," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Wu, Junnan & Liao, Yanfen & Lin, Yan & Tian, Yunlong & Ma, Xiaoqian, 2019. "Study on thermal decomposition kinetics model of sewage sludge and wheat based on multi distributed activation energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 795-803.
    7. Sanaye, Sepehr & Alizadeh, Pouria & Yazdani, Mohsen, 2022. "Thermo-economic analysis of syngas production from wet digested sewage sludge by gasification process," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 524-539.
    8. Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar & Singh, Ekta & Binod, Parameswaran & Sindhu, Raveendran & Sarsaiya, Surendra & Kumar, Aman & Chen, Hongyu & Duan, Yumin & Pandey, Ashok & Kumar, Sunil & Taherzadeh, Mohammad J. , 2022. "Biotechnological strategies for bio-transforming biosolid into resources toward circular bio-economy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Yang, Xiaoxia & Gu, Shengshen & Kheradmand, Amanj & Kan, Tao & He, Jing & Strezov, Vladimir & Zou, Ruiping & Yu, Aibing & Jiang, Yijiao, 2022. "Tunable syngas production from biomass: Synergistic effect of steam, Ni–CaO catalyst, and biochar," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    10. Luo, Juan & Ma, Rui & Lin, Junhao & Sun, Shichang & Gong, Guojin & Sun, Jiaman & Chen, Yi & Ma, Ning, 2023. "Review of microwave pyrolysis of sludge to produce high quality biogas: Multi-perspectives process optimization and critical issues proposal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Vershinina, K. Yu & Shlegel, N.E. & Strizhak, P.A., 2019. "Relative combustion efficiency of composite fuels based on of wood processing and oil production wastes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 18-28.
    12. Li, Fenghai & Zhao, Chaoyue & Fan, Hongli & Xu, Meiling & Guo, Qianqian & Li, Yang & Wu, Lishun & Wang, Tao & Fang, Yitian, 2022. "Ash fusion behaviors of sugarcane bagasse and its modification with sewage sludge addition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    13. Dai, Ying & Sun, Meng & Fang, Hua & Yao, Huicong & Chen, Jianbiao & Tan, Jinzhu & Mu, Lin & Zhu, Yuezhao, 2024. "Co-combustion of binary and ternary blends of industrial sludge, lignite and pine sawdust via thermogravimetric analysis: Thermal behaviors, interaction effects, kinetics evaluation, and artificial ne," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    14. Zhao, Zhenghui & Wang, Ruikun & Wu, Junhong & Yin, Qianqian & Wang, Chunbo, 2019. "Bottom ash characteristics and pollutant emission during the co-combustion of pulverized coal with high mass-percentage sewage sludge," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 809-818.
    15. Liu, Yali & Zhai, Yunbo & Li, Shanhong & Liu, Xiangmin & Liu, Xiaoping & Wang, Bei & Qiu, Zhenzi & Li, Caiting, 2020. "Production of bio-oil with low oxygen and nitrogen contents by combined hydrothermal pretreatment and pyrolysis of sewage sludge," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    16. Pecchi, Matteo & Baratieri, Marco, 2019. "Coupling anaerobic digestion with gasification, pyrolysis or hydrothermal carbonization: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 462-475.
    17. Xu, Tong & Wang, Chunbo & Hong, Dikun & Li, Song & Yue, Shuang, 2023. "The synergistic effect during co-combustion of municipal sludge and coal: Experimental and ReaxFF molecular dynamic study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    18. Czerwińska, Klaudia & Śliz, Maciej & Wilk, Małgorzata, 2022. "Hydrothermal carbonization process: Fundamentals, main parameter characteristics and possible applications including an effective method of SARS-CoV-2 mitigation in sewage sludge. A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    19. Adam Smoliński & Natalia Howaniec & Andrzej Bąk, 2018. "Utilization of Energy Crops and Sewage Sludge in the Process of Co-Gasification for Sustainable Hydrogen Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-8, March.
    20. Chen, Jiacong & He, Yao & Liu, Jingyong & Liu, Chao & Xie, Wuming & Kuo, Jiahong & Zhang, Xiaochun & Li, Shoupeng & Liang, Jialin & Sun, Shuiyu & Buyukada, Musa & Evrendilek, Fatih, 2019. "The mixture of sewage sludge and biomass waste as solid biofuels: Process characteristic and environmental implication," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 707-717.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:7:p:1708-:d:341274. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.