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Recent developments on thermal municipal sludge pretreatment technologies for enhanced anaerobic digestion

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  • Kor-Bicakci, Gokce
  • Eskicioglu, Cigdem

Abstract

Sludge management is still one of the most challenging issues in wastewater treatment plants due to a dramatic increase in sludge production, high sludge disposal costs, legal constraints as well as social and environmental concerns. There is a great effort to develop more environmentally friendly and economical technologies for minimization of excess sludge production and converting wastewater treatment sludge from waste into a renewable resource for bioenergy recovery. Recently, among these technologies, pretreatment processes applied before anaerobic sludge digestion have received a growing attention with several advantages over conventional digestion process. The main goal of the present paper is to present a state-of-the-art review of recent developments on advanced anaerobic digestion employed in municipal wastewater treatment plants. Thermal pretreatment technologies documented in the literature are presented extensively. The effectiveness of thermal pretreatment methods, namely conventional, microwave and radio frequency heatings, are discussed and compared in terms of heating principles, sludge disintegration, digester performance, and sludge rheology. The effectiveness and practicality of the aforementioned methods at industrial-scale and some challenges associated with the implementation at full-scale are also reviewed. Particular attention is paid to integration of combined heat and power systems with thermal hydrolysis for achieving energy self-sufficiency in full-scale plants. Furthermore, the municipal sludge production around the world as well as current sludge disposal and reuse options are addressed.

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  • Kor-Bicakci, Gokce & Eskicioglu, Cigdem, 2019. "Recent developments on thermal municipal sludge pretreatment technologies for enhanced anaerobic digestion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 423-443.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:110:y:2019:i:c:p:423-443
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.05.002
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    2. Hubert Byliński & Andrzej Sobecki & Jacek Gębicki, 2019. "The Use of Artificial Neural Networks and Decision Trees to Predict the Degree of Odor Nuisance of Post-Digestion Sludge in the Sewage Treatment Plant Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-12, August.
    3. Georgia-Christina Mitraka & Konstantinos N. Kontogiannopoulos & Maria Batsioula & George F. Banias & Anastasios I. Zouboulis & Panagiotis G. Kougias, 2022. "A Comprehensive Review on Pretreatment Methods for Enhanced Biogas Production from Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-56, September.
    4. 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).
    5. Stergios Vakalis & Snehesh Shivananda Ail & Konstantinos Moustakas & Marco J. Castaldi, 2023. "Operation and Thermodynamic Modeling of a Novel Advanced Hydrothermal Reactor: Introduction of the Novel 3-Step Evolution Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    6. Patil, Ravichandra & Cimon, Caroline & Eskicioglu, Cigdem & Goud, Vaibhav, 2021. "Effect of ozonolysis and thermal pre-treatment on rice straw hydrolysis for the enhancement of biomethane production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 467-474.
    7. Jellali, Salah & Khiari, Besma & Usman, Muhammad & Hamdi, Helmi & Charabi, Yassine & Jeguirim, Mejdi, 2021. "Sludge-derived biochars: A review on the influence of synthesis conditions on pollutants removal efficiency from wastewaters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Hosseini Koupaie, E. & Lin, L. & Bazyar Lakeh, A.A. & Azizi, A. & Dhar, B.R. & Hafez, H. & Elbeshbishy, E., 2021. "Performance evaluation and microbial community analysis of mesophilic and thermophilic sludge fermentation processes coupled with thermal hydrolysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    9. Sylwia Myszograj & Ewelina Płuciennik-Koropczuk, 2023. "Thermal Disintegration of Sewage Sludge as a Method of Improving the Biogas Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Tavera-Ruiz, C. & Martí-Herrero, J. & Mendieta, O. & Jaimes-Estévez, J. & Gauthier-Maradei, P. & Azimov, U. & Escalante, H. & Castro, L., 2023. "Current understanding and perspectives on anaerobic digestion in developing countries: Colombia case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
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