MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
The significant amount of excess sewage sludge (ESS) generated on a daily basis by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is mainly subjected to biogas production, as for other organic waste streams such as food waste slurry (FWS). However, these organic wastes can be further valorized by production of...
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/8/2921 |
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| author | Mohsen Parchami Steven Wainaina Amir Mahboubi David I’Ons Mohammad J. Taherzadeh |
| author_facet | Mohsen Parchami Steven Wainaina Amir Mahboubi David I’Ons Mohammad J. Taherzadeh |
| author_sort | Mohsen Parchami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The significant amount of excess sewage sludge (ESS) generated on a daily basis by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is mainly subjected to biogas production, as for other organic waste streams such as food waste slurry (FWS). However, these organic wastes can be further valorized by production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that have various applications such as the application as an external carbon source for the denitrification stage at a WWTP. In this study, an immersed membrane bioreactor set-up was proposed for the stable production and in situ recovery of clarified VFAs from ESS and FWS. The VFAs yields from ESS and FWS reached 0.38 and 0.34 gVFA/gVS<sub>added</sub>, respectively, during a three-month operation period without pH control. The average flux during the stable VFAs production phase with the ESS was 5.53 L/m<sup>2</sup>/h while 16.18 L/m<sup>2</sup>/h was attained with FWS. Moreover, minimal flux deterioration was observed even during operation at maximum suspended solids concentration of 32 g/L, implying that the membrane bioreactors could potentially guarantee the required volumetric productivities. In addition, the techno-economic assessment of retrofitting the membrane-assisted VFAs production process in an actual WWTP estimated savings of up to 140 €/h for replacing 300 kg/h of methanol with VFAs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:17:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b4d4127fe5e45d283b796deeec90e33 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:17:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b4d4127fe5e45d283b796deeec90e332023-11-19T22:29:43ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-04-01108292110.3390/app10082921MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater TreatmentMohsen Parchami0Steven Wainaina1Amir Mahboubi2David I’Ons3Mohammad J. Taherzadeh4Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190 Borås, SwedenGryaab AB, Norra Fågelrovägen, SE 41834 Gothenburg, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190 Borås, SwedenThe significant amount of excess sewage sludge (ESS) generated on a daily basis by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is mainly subjected to biogas production, as for other organic waste streams such as food waste slurry (FWS). However, these organic wastes can be further valorized by production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that have various applications such as the application as an external carbon source for the denitrification stage at a WWTP. In this study, an immersed membrane bioreactor set-up was proposed for the stable production and in situ recovery of clarified VFAs from ESS and FWS. The VFAs yields from ESS and FWS reached 0.38 and 0.34 gVFA/gVS<sub>added</sub>, respectively, during a three-month operation period without pH control. The average flux during the stable VFAs production phase with the ESS was 5.53 L/m<sup>2</sup>/h while 16.18 L/m<sup>2</sup>/h was attained with FWS. Moreover, minimal flux deterioration was observed even during operation at maximum suspended solids concentration of 32 g/L, implying that the membrane bioreactors could potentially guarantee the required volumetric productivities. In addition, the techno-economic assessment of retrofitting the membrane-assisted VFAs production process in an actual WWTP estimated savings of up to 140 €/h for replacing 300 kg/h of methanol with VFAs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/8/2921wastewaterdenitrificationcarbon sourcevolatile fatty acidsimmersed membrane bioreactor |
| spellingShingle | Mohsen Parchami Steven Wainaina Amir Mahboubi David I’Ons Mohammad J. Taherzadeh MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Applied Sciences wastewater denitrification carbon source volatile fatty acids immersed membrane bioreactor |
| title | MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment |
| title_full | MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment |
| title_fullStr | MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment |
| title_short | MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment |
| title_sort | mbr assisted vfas production from excess sewage sludge and food waste slurry for sustainable wastewater treatment |
| topic | wastewater denitrification carbon source volatile fatty acids immersed membrane bioreactor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/8/2921 |
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