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Environmental Effects of Sewage Sludge Carbonization and Other Treatment Alternatives

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  • Ning-Yi Wang

    (Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No.71 Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan)

  • Chun-Hao Shih

    (Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No.71 Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan)

  • Pei-Te Chiueh

    (Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No.71 Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan)

  • Yu-Fong Huang

    (Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No.71 Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan)

Abstract

Carbonization is a newly developed process that converts sewage sludge to biocoal, a type of solid biomass that can partially substitute for coal during power generation. This study presents an assessment of the environmental effects of various sewage sludge treatment processes, including carbonization, direct landfills, co-incineration with municipal solid waste, and mono-incineration in Taiwan. This assessment was conducted using the life cycle assessment software SimaPro 7.2 and the IMPACT2002+ model. Results show that carbonization is the best approach for sewage sludge treatment, followed in descending order by co-incineration with municipal solid waste, direct landfills, and mono-incineration. The carbonization process has noticeable positive effects in the environmental impact categories of terrestrial ecotoxicity, aquatic ecotoxicity, land occupation, ionizing radiation, aquatic eutrophication, non-renewable energy, and mineral extraction. For the emission quantity of greenhouse gases, landfilling has the greatest impact (296.9 kg CO 2 eq./t sludge), followed by mono-incineration (232.2 kg CO 2 eq./t sludge) and carbonization (146.1 kg CO 2 eq./t sludge). Co-incineration with municipal solid waste has the benefit of reducing green house gas emission (–15.4 kg CO 2 eq./t sludge). In the aspect of energy recovery, sewerage sludge that has been pretreated by thickening, digestion, and dewatering still retains a high moisture content, and thus requires a significant amount of energy use when used as a substitute solid fuel. Therefore, the carbonization of sewage sludge would be a more sustainable option if the energy delivery and integration processes are made more efficient.

Suggested Citation

  • Ning-Yi Wang & Chun-Hao Shih & Pei-Te Chiueh & Yu-Fong Huang, 2013. "Environmental Effects of Sewage Sludge Carbonization and Other Treatment Alternatives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:6:y:2013:i:2:p:871-883:d:23498
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chun, Young Nam & Kim, Seong Cheon & Yoshikawa, Kunio, 2011. "Pyrolysis gasification of dried sewage sludge in a combined screw and rotary kiln gasifier," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1105-1112, April.
    2. Lou, Rui & Wu, Shubin & Lv, Gaojin & Yang, Qing, 2012. "Energy and resource utilization of deinking sludge pyrolysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 46-50.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wilhelm Jan Tic & Joanna Guziałowska-Tic & Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Eugeniusz Woźnikowski & Adam Zadorożny & Łukasz Niedźwiecki & Mateusz Wnukowski & Krystian Krochmalny & Michał Czerep & Michał Ostryc, 2018. "Novel Concept of an Installation for Sustainable Thermal Utilization of Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Mateusz Wnukowski & Lukasz Niedzwiecki & Michał Czerep & Mateusz Kowal & Krystian Krochmalny & Jacek Zgóra & Michał Ostrycharczyk & Marcin Baranowski & Wilhelm Jan Tic & Joanna, 2019. "Torrefaction as a Valorization Method Used Prior to the Gasification of Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Asamoah, Bernice & Nikiema, Josiane & Gebrezgabher, Solomie & Odonkor, Elsie & Njenga, M., 2016. "A review on production, marketing and use of fuel briquettes," IWMI Reports 257959, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Liu, Hanqiao & Qiao, Haoyu & Liu, Shiqi & Wei, Guoxia & Zhao, Hailong & Li, Kai & Weng, Fangkai, 2023. "Energy, environment and economy assessment of sewage sludge incineration technologies in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    5. Umberto Di Matteo & Benedetto Nastasi & Angelo Albo & Davide Astiaso Garcia, 2017. "Energy Contribution of OFMSW (Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste) to Energy-Environmental Sustainability in Urban Areas at Small Scale," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Nancy Diaz-Elsayed & Jiayi Hua & Nader Rezaei & Qiong Zhang, 2023. "A Decision Framework for Designing Sustainable Wastewater-Based Resource Recovery Schemes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-27, February.
    7. Dinko Đurđević & Saša Žiković & Paolo Blecich, 2022. "Sustainable Sewage Sludge Management Technologies Selection Based on Techno-Economic-Environmental Criteria: Case Study of Croatia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-23, May.

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