IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i6p1383-d1356294.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conversion of Sewage Sludge into Biofuels via Different Pathways and Their Use in Agriculture: A Comprehensive Review

Author

Listed:
  • Zygmunt Kowalski

    (Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, Poland)

  • Agnieszka Makara

    (Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Kraków, Poland)

  • Joanna Kulczycka

    (Faculty of Management, AGH University of Science and Technology, Gramatyka 10, 30-067 Kraków, Poland)

  • Agnieszka Generowicz

    (Department of Environmental Technologies, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Kraków, Poland)

  • Paweł Kwaśnicki

    (Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, 20-708 Lublin, Poland)

  • Józef Ciuła

    (Faculty of Engineering Sciences, State University of Applied Sciences in Nowy Sącz, 33-300 Nowy Sącz, Poland)

  • Anna Gronba-Chyła

    (Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, 20-708 Lublin, Poland)

Abstract

The valorisation of sewage sludge for sustainable agricultural use and biofuel production proposes an effective and beneficial management of sewage sludge in a closed-loop cycle. The management of sewage sludge biowaste is a rising problem due to increasing waste storage expenses. In this sense, the use of circular economy principles in sewage sludge management creates opportunities to develop new technologies for processing. The biorefinery model allows the application of wasteless technologies via sewage sludge valorisation in terms of agricultural use and biofuel production, especially with the hydrothermal carbonisation method. Applying hydrothermal carbonisation in the treatment of biosolid sewage sludge has numerous benefits due to processing highly hydrated organic waste into carbon hydro char, a high-quality solid biofuel. The direct use of sewage sludge in the soil does not allow for full use of its functional properties. However, the hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge results in biocarbon pellets, making it a viable approach. This work also discusses the barriers (legal, chemical, biological, and technical) and possibilities related to sewage sludge biorefining processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Zygmunt Kowalski & Agnieszka Makara & Joanna Kulczycka & Agnieszka Generowicz & Paweł Kwaśnicki & Józef Ciuła & Anna Gronba-Chyła, 2024. "Conversion of Sewage Sludge into Biofuels via Different Pathways and Their Use in Agriculture: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-28, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:6:p:1383-:d:1356294
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/6/1383/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/6/1383/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zygmunt Kowalski & Agnieszka Makara, 2022. "Sustainable Systems for the Production of District Heating Using Meat-Bone Meal as Biofuel: A Polish Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Hana Hudcová & Jan Vymazal & Miloš Rozkošný, 2019. "Present restrictions of sewage sludge application in agriculture within the European Union," Soil and Water Research, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 14(2), pages 104-120.
    3. Korhonen, Jouni & Honkasalo, Antero & Seppälä, Jyri, 2018. "Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 37-46.
    4. Lili Wang & Zexia Li, 2021. "Knowledge flows from public science to industrial technologies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1232-1255, August.
    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. Davide Bruno & Marinella Ferrara & Felice D’Alessandro & Alberto Mandelli, 2022. "The Role of Design in the CE Transition of the Furniture Industry—The Case of the Italian Company Cassina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Francesca Gennari, 2023. "The transition towards a circular economy. A framework for SMEs," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(4), pages 1423-1457, December.
    3. Jaroslaw Golebiewski & Josu Takala & Oskar Juszczyk & Nina Drejerska, 2019. "Local contribution to circular economy. A case study of a Polish rural municipality," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 21(3), pages 771-791.
    4. Millar, Neal & McLaughlin, Eoin & Börger, Tobias, 2019. "The Circular Economy: Swings and Roundabouts?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 11-19.
    5. Nikos Chatzistamoulou & Phoebe Koundouri, 2020. "The Economics of Sustainable Development," DEOS Working Papers 2005, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    6. Halkos, George & Managi, Shunsuke, 2023. "New developments in the disciplines of environmental and resource economics," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 513-522.
    7. Jose García‐Quevedo & Elisenda Jové‐Llopis & Ester Martínez‐Ros, 2020. "Barriers to the circular economy in European small and medium‐sized firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2450-2464, September.
    8. Nuri Cihan Kayaçetin & Chiara Piccardo & Alexis Versele, 2022. "Social Impact Assessment of Circular Construction: Case of Living Lab Ghent," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Anca C. Farcas & Charis M. Galanakis & Carmen Socaciu & Oana L. Pop & Dorin Tibulca & Adriana Paucean & Mirela A. Jimborean & Melinda Fogarasi & Liana C. Salanta & Maria Tofana & Sonia A. Socaci, 2020. "Food Security during the Pandemic and the Importance of the Bioeconomy in the New Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Amir Latif & Martha Fani Cahyandito & Gemilang Lara Utama, 2023. "Circular Economy Concept at the Micro-Level: A Case Study of Taruna Mukti Farmer Group, Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, February.
    11. Howard, Mickey & Böhm, Steffen & Eatherley, Dan, 2022. "Systems resilience and SME multilevel challenges: A place-based conceptualization of the circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 757-768.
    12. D'Adamo, Idiano & Mammetti, Marco & Ottaviani, Dario & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2023. "Photovoltaic systems and sustainable communities: New social models for ecological transition. The impact of incentive policies in profitability analyses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 1291-1304.
    13. Saja Kosanović & Mirjana Miletić & Ljubo Marković, 2021. "Energy Refurbishment of Family Houses in Serbia in Line with the Principles of Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.
    14. Ivan Deviatkin & Sanna Rousu & Malahat Ghoreishi & Mohammad Naji Nassajfar & Mika Horttanainen & Ville Leminen, 2022. "Implementation of Circular Economy Strategies within the Electronics Sector: Insights from Finnish Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-11, March.
    15. Mariana S. T. Amândio & Joana M. Pereira & Jorge M. S. Rocha & Luísa S. Serafim & Ana M. R. B. Xavier, 2022. "Getting Value from Pulp and Paper Industry Wastes: On the Way to Sustainability and Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-31, June.
    16. Anna Barford & Saffy Rose Ahmad, 2021. "A Call for a Socially Restorative Circular Economy: Waste Pickers in the Recycled Plastics Supply Chain," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    17. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Francisco J. Sáez‐Martínez, 2022. "Closing the loop through eco‐innovation by European firms: Circular economy for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2337-2350, July.
    18. Mohammadreza Akbari & John L. Hopkins, 2022. "Digital technologies as enablers of supply chain sustainability in an emerging economy," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 689-710, December.
    19. Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Inés Suárez-Perales & Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz, 2019. "Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    20. Castro-Lopez, Adrian & Iglesias, Victor & Santos-Vijande, María Leticia, 2023. "Organizational capabilities and institutional pressures in the adoption of circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    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:6:p:1383-:d:1356294. 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.