IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i17p4447-d1471545.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermal Disintegration of Waste-Activated Sludge

Author

Listed:
  • Katarzyna Bułkowska

    (Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Słoneczna St. 45G, 10-709 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Magdalena Zielińska

    (Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Słoneczna St. 45G, 10-709 Olsztyn, Poland)

Abstract

The effective management of waste-activated sludge (WAS) presents a significant challenge for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), primarily due to the sludge’s high content of organic matter, pathogens, and hazardous substances such as heavy metals. As urban populations and industrial activities expand, the increasing volume of WAS has intensified the need for sustainable treatment solutions. Conventional approaches, such as landfilling and anaerobic digestion, are frequently ineffective and resource-intensive, particularly when dealing with the protective extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that render WAS resistant to biodegradation. Thermal pretreatment methods have gained attention due to their ability to enhance the biodegradability of sludge, improve dewaterability, and facilitate resource recovery. These processes function by breaking down complex organic structures within the sludge, thereby increasing its accessibility for subsequent treatments such as anaerobic digestion. The integration of thermal treatment with chemical methods can further optimize the management process, resulting in higher biogas yields, reduced pathogen content, and lower environmental risks. While thermal disintegration is energy-intensive, advancements in energy recovery and process optimization have made it a more viable and environmentally friendly option. This approach offers a pathway to more sustainable and efficient sludge management practices, which align with the goals of reducing waste and complying with stricter environmental regulations.

Suggested Citation

  • Katarzyna Bułkowska & Magdalena Zielińska, 2024. "Thermal Disintegration of Waste-Activated Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-28, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:17:p:4447-:d:1471545
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/17/4447/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/17/4447/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Di Capua, Francesco & Spasiano, Danilo & Giordano, Andrea & Adani, Fabrizio & Fratino, Umberto & Pirozzi, Francesco & Esposito, Giovanni, 2020. "High-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: challenges and opportunities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tian, Wenjing & Li, Jianhao & Zhu, Lirong & Li, Wen & He, Linyan & Gu, Li & Deng, Rui & Shi, Dezhi & Chai, Hongxiang & Gao, Meng, 2021. "Insights of enhancing methane production under high-solid anaerobic digestion of wheat straw by calcium peroxide pretreatment and zero valent iron addition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 1321-1332.
    2. Marcin Zieliński & Marcin Dębowski & Joanna Kazimierowicz, 2021. "The Effect of Static Magnetic Field on Methanogenesis in the Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Qi, Chuanren & Cao, Dingge & Gao, Xingzu & Jia, Sumeng & Yin, Rongrong & Nghiem, Long D. & Li, Guoxue & Luo, Wenhai, 2023. "Optimising organic composition of feedstock to improve microbial dynamics and symbiosis to advance solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and organic waste," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    4. Jiawen Zhang & Zhiyi Liang & Toru Matsumoto & Tiejia Zhang, 2022. "Environmental and Economic Implication of Implementation Scale of Sewage Sludge Recycling Systems Considering Carbon Trading Price," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Marcin Dębowski & Marcin Zieliński & Joanna Kazimierowicz & Anna Nowicka & Magda Dudek, 2024. "Optimisation of Biogas Production in the Co-Digestion of Pre-Hydrodynamically Cavitated Aerobic Granular Sludge with Waste Fats," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-16, February.
    6. Rosa M. Llácer-Iglesias & P. Amparo López-Jiménez & Modesto Pérez-Sánchez, 2021. "Energy Self-Sufficiency Aiming for Sustainable Wastewater Systems: Are All Options Being Explored?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    7. Ombretta Paladino, 2022. "Data Driven Modelling and Control Strategies to Improve Biogas Quality and Production from High Solids Anaerobic Digestion: A Mini Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Joanna Kazimierowicz & Izabela Bartkowska & Maria Walery, 2020. "Effect of Low-Temperature Conditioning of Excess Dairy Sewage Sludge with the Use of Solidified Carbon Dioxide on the Efficiency of Methane Fermentation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Li, Wangliang & Gupta, Rohit & Zhang, Zhikai & Cao, Lixia & Li, Yanqing & Show, Pau Loke & Gupta, Vijai Kumar & Kumar, Sunil & Lin, Kun-Yi Andrew & Varjani, Sunita & Connelly, Stephanie & You, Siming, 2023. "A review of high-solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD): From transport phenomena to process design," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    10. Raffaele Morello & Francesco Di Capua & Ludovico Pontoni & Stefano Papirio & Danilo Spasiano & Umberto Fratino & Francesco Pirozzi & Giovanni Esposito, 2021. "Microaerobic Digestion of Low-Biodegradable Sewage Sludge: Effect of Air Dosing in Batch Reactors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-11, September.
    11. Wang, Zhongzhong & Hu, Yuansheng & Wang, Shun & Wu, Guangxue & Zhan, Xinmin, 2023. "A critical review on dry anaerobic digestion of organic waste: Characteristics, operational conditions, and improvement strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    12. German Smetana & Ewa Neczaj & Anna Grosser, 2021. "Biomethane Potential of Selected Organic Waste and Sewage Sludge at Different Temperature Regimes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    13. Nicola Di Costanzo & Alessandra Cesaro & Francesco Di Capua & Giovanni Esposito, 2021. "Exploiting the Nutrient Potential of Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-25, December.
    14. He, Huiban & Wang, Ziyu & Wang, Weiwei & He, Haoxing & Yan, Jing & Wang, Hongliang & Cui, Zongjun & Yuan, Xufeng, 2024. "Mitigating short-circuits through synergistic temperature and hydraulic retention time control for enhancing methane yield in continuous stirred-tank reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    15. Zhao, Jiamin & Hou, Tingting & Wang, Qian & Zhang, Zhenya & Lei, Zhongfang & Shimizu, Kazuya & Guo, Wenshan & Ngo, Huu Hao, 2021. "Application of biogas recirculation in anaerobic granular sludge system for multifunctional sewage sludge management with high efficacy energy recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    16. Adam Masłoń & Joanna Czarnota & Aleksandra Szaja & Joanna Szulżyk-Cieplak & Grzegorz Łagód, 2020. "The Enhancement of Energy Efficiency in a Wastewater Treatment Plant through Sustainable Biogas Use: Case Study from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    17. Giovanni Gadaleta & Francesco Todaro & Annamaria Giuliano & Sabino De Gisi & Michele Notarnicola, 2024. "Co-Treatment of Food Waste and Municipal Sewage Sludge: Technical and Environmental Review of Biological and Thermal Technologies," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-34, July.
    18. Mariusz Tańczuk & Wojciech Kostowski, 2021. "Technical, Energetic and Economic Optimization Analysis of Selection of Heat Source for Municipal Sewage Sludge Dryer," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-16, January.
    19. Chen, Rui & Zhou, Jialiang & Zheng, Xin & Jiang, Lingwei & Duan, Na, 2023. "Unveiling the synergy of Chlorella sp. and cattle manure co-digestion under high feeding load," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    20. Santo Fabio Corsino & Michele Torregrossa & Gaspare Viviani, 2021. "Biomethane Production from Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Selected Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) with Sewage Sludge: Effect of the Inoculum to Substrate Ratio (ISR) and Mixture Composit," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-12, December.

    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:17:y:2024:i:17:p:4447-:d:1471545. 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.