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Pretreatment and co-digestion of wastewater sludge for biogas production: Recent research advances and trends

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  • Elalami, D.
  • Carrere, H.
  • Monlau, F.
  • Abdelouahdi, K.
  • Oukarroum, A.
  • Barakat, A.

Abstract

Currently, sludge is not considered as a waste any more, since it is capable of producing valuable products. Besides land disposal and thermochemical processes (i.e. pyrolysis, combustion, gasification), biological processes appear as promising valorisation routes to treat wastewater sludge efficiently. Anaerobic digestion (AD) processes are already being applied at industrial scales for the effective disposal and valorisation of sludge. However, methane yields from sludge anaerobic digestion remain low compared to other types of organic waste. Thus, pretreatment and co-digestion contribute to improve the degradability of organic matter and methane potential of sludge, respectively. This paper reviews the recent achievements in sludge pretreatment and co-digestion with other substrates such as the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, fatty waste, lignocellulosic and algal biomass. Furthermore, recent studies combining co-digestion and pretreatment are examined. The paper also provides recommendations to better manage sludge recovery by taking into account multiple aspects such as techno-economic feasibility, the effect of pretreatment on both the physico-chemical properties of sludge and the quality of digestate. The socio-environmental and legislative aspects are also essential in order to ensure the sustainability of the process.

Suggested Citation

  • Elalami, D. & Carrere, H. & Monlau, F. & Abdelouahdi, K. & Oukarroum, A. & Barakat, A., 2019. "Pretreatment and co-digestion of wastewater sludge for biogas production: Recent research advances and trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:114:y:2019:i:c:25
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109287
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    Cited by:

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    3. Yemei Li & Yuanyuan Ren & Jiayuan Ji & Yu-You Li & Takuro Kobayashi, 2023. "Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment, Sewage Sludge Digestion and Biogas Upgrading: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Chiappero, Marco & Norouzi, Omid & Hu, Mingyu & Demichelis, Francesca & Berruti, Franco & Di Maria, Francesco & Mašek, Ondřej & Fiore, Silvia, 2020. "Review of biochar role as additive in anaerobic digestion processes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    5. Kasinath, Archana & Byliński, Hubert & Artichowicz, Wojciech & Remiszewska –Skwarek, Anna & Szopińska, Małgorzata & Zaborowska, Ewa & Luczkiewicz, Aneta & Fudala –Ksiazek, Sylwia, 2023. "Biochemical assays of intensified methane content in biogas from low-temperature processing of waste activated sludge," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    6. Gérard Merlin & Jonathan Outin & Hervé Boileau, 2021. "Co-Digestion of Extended Aeration Sewage Sludge with Whey, Grease and Septage: Experimental and Modeling Determination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    7. He Zhang & Ashish T. Asutosh & Junxue Zhang, 2022. "A quantitative sustainable comparative study of two biogas systems based on energy, emergy and entropy methods in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13583-13609, December.
    8. Manuel García & Paula Oulego & Mario Díaz & Sergio Collado, 2021. "Non-Energetic Chemical Products by Fermentation of Hydrolyzed Sewage Sludge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-37, May.
    9. Luz Marina Ruiz & María Fernández & Ana Genaro & Jaime Martín-Pascual & Montserrat Zamorano, 2023. "Multi-Parametric Analysis Based on Physico-Chemical Characterization and Biochemical Methane Potential Estimation for the Selection of Industrial Wastes as Co-Substrates in Anaerobic Digestion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-19, July.
    10. 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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