IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v342y2026ics0360544225051850.html

Techno-economic and life cycle assessment of liquid biofuels obtained from municipal sewage sludge by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL)

Author

Listed:
  • Kapusta, Krzysztof
  • Śliwińska, Anna
  • Krawczyk, Piotr
  • Wodołażski, Artur
  • Strzoda, Ewelina
  • Xu, Donghai
  • Duan, Peigao
  • Hao, Botian
  • Wang, Yuanyuan
  • Leng, Lijian
  • Yang, Le
  • Fan, Liangliang

Abstract

This study presents the techno-economic and environmental assessment of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) as a promising technology for energy recovery and waste minimization. Experimental data from continuous-mode HTL and upgrading processes were used to simulate a commercial-scale installation. The main product, biocrude oil, was considered as feedstock for the production of low-carbon transportation fuels. Techno-economic evaluation using Dynamic Generation Cost (DGC), Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indicated potential economic viability of the proposed concept. The calculated DGC was USD 0.90/L, NPV was USD 2.93 million, and IRR reached 5.2 %. Life cycle assessment (LCA) based on SimaPro software and ecoinvent v.3 database, applying the IPCC 2021 and ReCiPe 2016 methods, showed that the carbon footprint of the upgraded biofuel was 19 g CO2e/MJ, resulting in 80 % GHG savings compared to fossil fuels. The results demonstrate that continuous HTL of MSS followed by hydrotreatment is a feasible waste-to-fuel pathway contributing to circular economy and climate change mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kapusta, Krzysztof & Śliwińska, Anna & Krawczyk, Piotr & Wodołażski, Artur & Strzoda, Ewelina & Xu, Donghai & Duan, Peigao & Hao, Botian & Wang, Yuanyuan & Leng, Lijian & Yang, Le & Fan, Liangliang, 2026. "Techno-economic and life cycle assessment of liquid biofuels obtained from municipal sewage sludge by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:342:y:2026:i:c:s0360544225051850
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.139543
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225051850
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139543?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhu, Yunhua & Biddy, Mary J. & Jones, Susanne B. & Elliott, Douglas C. & Schmidt, Andrew J., 2014. "Techno-economic analysis of liquid fuel production from woody biomass via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and upgrading," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 384-394.
    2. Liu, Huan & Basar, Ibrahim Alper & Eskicioglu, Cigdem, 2023. "Hydrothermal liquefaction for sludge-to-energy conversion: An evaluation of biocrude production and management of waste streams," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    3. Piotr Krawczyk & Anna Śliwińska, 2020. "Eco-Efficiency Assessment of the Application of Large-Scale Rechargeable Batteries in a Coal-Fired Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Krawczyk, Piotr & Howaniec, Natalia & Smoliński, Adam, 2016. "Economic efficiency analysis of substitute natural gas (SNG) production in steam gasification of coal with the utilization of HTR excess heat," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1207-1213.
    5. Li, Shuyun & Jiang, Yuan & Snowden-Swan, Lesley J. & Askander, Jalal A. & Schmidt, Andrew J. & Billing, Justin M., 2021. "Techno-economic uncertainty analysis of wet waste-to-biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    6. Do, Truong Xuan & Mujahid, Rana & Lim, Hyun Soo & Kim, Jae-Kon & Lim, Young-Il & Kim, Jaehoon, 2020. "Techno-economic analysis of bio heavy-oil production from sewage sludge using supercritical and subcritical water," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 30-42.
    7. Wiloso, Edi Iswanto & Heijungs, Reinout & de Snoo, Geert R., 2012. "LCA of second generation bioethanol: A review and some issues to be resolved for good LCA practice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 5295-5308.
    8. Xu, Donghai & Lin, Guike & Liu, Liang & Wang, Yang & Jing, Zefeng & Wang, Shuzhong, 2018. "Comprehensive evaluation on product characteristics of fast hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge at different temperatures," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 686-695.
    9. Kossińska, Nina & Krzyżyńska, Renata & Ghazal, Heba & Jouhara, Hussam, 2023. "Hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge and resulting biofuels as a sustainable energy source," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    10. Zhou, Junhui & Chen, Jiefeng & Zhang, Weijin & Tong, Yin & Liu, Shengqiang & Xu, Donghai & Leng, Lijian & Li, Hailong, 2025. "Machine-learning-aided life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge for bio-oil production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    11. Agnieszka Żelazna & Justyna Gołębiowska & Agata Zdyb & Artur Pawłowski, 2020. "A Hybrid vs. On-Grid Photovoltaic System: Multicriteria Analysis of Environmental, Economic, and Technical Aspects in Life Cycle Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, August.
    12. Lozano, E.M. & Pedersen, T.H. & Rosendahl, L.A., 2020. "Integration of hydrothermal liquefaction and carbon capture and storage for the production of advanced liquid biofuels with negative CO2 emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    13. Zoppi, Giulia & Tito, Edoardo & Bianco, Isabella & Pipitone, Giuseppe & Pirone, Raffaele & Bensaid, Samir, 2023. "Life cycle assessment of the biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass in a hydrothermal liquefaction – aqueous phase reforming integrated biorefinery," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 375-385.
    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. Wang, Zhenyao & Li, Xuan & Liu, Huan & Lin, Carol Sze Ki & Wang, Qilin, 2025. "Hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge: A comprehensive review of biocrude oil production, byproducts valorization, and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Raquel de Souza Deuber & Jéssica Marcon Bressanin & Daniel Santos Fernandes & Henrique Real Guimarães & Mateus Ferreira Chagas & Antonio Bonomi & Leonardo Vasconcelos Fregolente & Marcos Djun Barbosa , 2023. "Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels from Lignocellulosic Residues in Brazil through Hydrothermal Liquefaction: Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Artur Wodołażski, 2025. "Coupled CFD-DEM Numerical Simulation of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of Sludge Flocs to Biocrude Oil in a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) in a Scale-Up Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-26, August.
    4. Zoppi, Giulia & Tito, Edoardo & Bianco, Isabella & Pipitone, Giuseppe & Pirone, Raffaele & Bensaid, Samir, 2023. "Life cycle assessment of the biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass in a hydrothermal liquefaction – aqueous phase reforming integrated biorefinery," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 375-385.
    5. Zhou, Junhui & Chen, Jiefeng & Zhang, Weijin & Tong, Yin & Liu, Shengqiang & Xu, Donghai & Leng, Lijian & Li, Hailong, 2025. "Machine-learning-aided life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge for bio-oil production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    6. Li, Hailong & Dong, Beibei & Nookuea, Worrada & Sun, Qie & Thorin, Eva & Yu, Zhixin, 2025. "Selecting proper technologies for capturing CO2 from bioenergy conversion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    7. Alherbawi, Mohammad & Parthasarathy, Prakash & Al-Ansari, Tareq & Mackey, Hamish R. & McKay, Gordon, 2021. "Potential of drop-in biofuel production from camel manure by hydrothermal liquefaction and biocrude upgrading: A Qatar case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    8. Hao Chen & Fangfang Lou & Xueyi Zhang & Chengjun Shen & Weicheng Pan & Shuang Wang, 2023. "Hydrothermal Conversion of Microalgae Slurry in a Continuous Solar Collector with Static Mixer for Heat Transfer Enhancement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Xiang, Dong & Xiang, Junjie & Sun, Zhe & Cao, Yan, 2017. "The integrated coke-oven gas and pulverized coke gasification for methanol production with highly efficient hydrogen utilization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 78-91.
    10. Cuthbertson, Madison & Workman, Mark & Brophy, Aoife, 2024. "Without mandated demand for greenhouse gas removal – High integrity GtCO2-scale global deployment will be jeopardized: Insight from US economic policy 2020–23," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 372(C).
    11. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    12. Kargbo, Hannah & Harris, Jonathan Stuart & Phan, Anh N., 2021. "“Drop-in” fuel production from biomass: Critical review on techno-economic feasibility and sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    13. Magdeldin, Mohamed & Kohl, Thomas & Järvinen, Mika, 2017. "Techno-economic assessment of the by-products contribution from non-catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of lignocellulose residues," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 679-695.
    14. Piotr Krawczyk & Anna Śliwińska, 2020. "Eco-Efficiency Assessment of the Application of Large-Scale Rechargeable Batteries in a Coal-Fired Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    15. Piotr Olczak & Małgorzata Olek & Dominika Matuszewska & Artur Dyczko & Tomasz Mania, 2021. "Monofacial and Bifacial Micro PV Installation as Element of Energy Transition—The Case of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, January.
    16. Kumar, R. & Strezov, V., 2021. "Thermochemical production of bio-oil: A review of downstream processing technologies for bio-oil upgrading, production of hydrogen and high value-added products," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    17. Mariusz Wądrzyk & Jakub Katerla & Rafał Janus & Marek Lewandowski & Marek Plata & Łukasz Korzeniowski, 2024. "High-Energy-Density Hydrochar and Bio-Oil from Hydrothermal Processing of Spent Coffee Grounds—Experimental Investigation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-18, December.
    18. de Jong, Sierk & Hoefnagels, Ric & Wetterlund, Elisabeth & Pettersson, Karin & Faaij, André & Junginger, Martin, 2017. "Cost optimization of biofuel production – The impact of scale, integration, transport and supply chain configurations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1055-1070.
    19. Sanja Potrč & Aleksandra Petrovič & Jafaru M. Egieya & Lidija Čuček, 2025. "Valorization of Biomass Through Anaerobic Digestion and Hydrothermal Carbonization: Integrated Process Flowsheet and Supply Chain Network Optimization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-24, January.
    20. Vlasopoulos, Antonis & Malinauskaite, Jurgita & Żabnieńska-Góra, Alina & Jouhara, Hussam, 2023. "Life cycle assessment of plastic waste and energy recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:energy:v:342:y:2026:i:c:s0360544225051850. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    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.