Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management
Appropriate management is necessary to mitigate the environmental impacts of wastewater sludge. One lesser-known technology concerns the use of solidified CO<sub>2</sub> for dewatering, sanitization, and digestion improvement. Solidified CO<sub>2</sub> is a normal byproduct o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2324 |
| _version_ | 1797624415280693248 |
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| author | Joanna Kazimierowicz Marcin Dębowski |
| author_facet | Joanna Kazimierowicz Marcin Dębowski |
| author_sort | Joanna Kazimierowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Appropriate management is necessary to mitigate the environmental impacts of wastewater sludge. One lesser-known technology concerns the use of solidified CO<sub>2</sub> for dewatering, sanitization, and digestion improvement. Solidified CO<sub>2</sub> is a normal byproduct of natural gas treatment processes and can also be produced by dedicated biogas upgrading technologies. The way solidified CO<sub>2</sub> is sourced is fully in line with the principles of the circular economy and carbon dioxide mitigation. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge on the production and application of solid CO<sub>2</sub> in the pretreatment and management of sewage sludge. Using solidified CO<sub>2</sub> for sludge conditioning causes effective lysis of microbial cells, which destroys activated sludge flocs, promotes biomass fragmentation, facilitates efficient dispersion of molecular associations, modifies cell morphology, and denatures macromolecules. Solidified CO<sub>2</sub> can be used as an attractive tool to sanitize and dewater sludge and as a pretreatment technology to improve methane digestion and fermentative hydrogen production. Furthermore, it can also be incorporated into a closed CO<sub>2</sub> cycle of biogas production–biogas upgrading–solidified CO<sub>2</sub> production–sludge disintegration–digestion–biogas production. This feature not only bolsters the technology’s capacity to improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of digestion processes, but can also help reduce atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, a crucial advantage in terms of environment protection. This new approach to solidified CO<sub>2</sub> generation and application largely counteracts previous limitations, which are mainly related to the low cost-effectiveness of the production process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-977b8c0b07b54653b99a84b29f49c93b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-977b8c0b07b54653b99a84b29f49c93b2023-11-16T16:55:36ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-01-01243232410.3390/ijms24032324Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge ManagementJoanna Kazimierowicz0Marcin Dębowski1Department of Water Supply and Sewage Systems, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-351 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Environment Engineering, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-720 Olsztyn, PolandAppropriate management is necessary to mitigate the environmental impacts of wastewater sludge. One lesser-known technology concerns the use of solidified CO<sub>2</sub> for dewatering, sanitization, and digestion improvement. Solidified CO<sub>2</sub> is a normal byproduct of natural gas treatment processes and can also be produced by dedicated biogas upgrading technologies. The way solidified CO<sub>2</sub> is sourced is fully in line with the principles of the circular economy and carbon dioxide mitigation. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge on the production and application of solid CO<sub>2</sub> in the pretreatment and management of sewage sludge. Using solidified CO<sub>2</sub> for sludge conditioning causes effective lysis of microbial cells, which destroys activated sludge flocs, promotes biomass fragmentation, facilitates efficient dispersion of molecular associations, modifies cell morphology, and denatures macromolecules. Solidified CO<sub>2</sub> can be used as an attractive tool to sanitize and dewater sludge and as a pretreatment technology to improve methane digestion and fermentative hydrogen production. Furthermore, it can also be incorporated into a closed CO<sub>2</sub> cycle of biogas production–biogas upgrading–solidified CO<sub>2</sub> production–sludge disintegration–digestion–biogas production. This feature not only bolsters the technology’s capacity to improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of digestion processes, but can also help reduce atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, a crucial advantage in terms of environment protection. This new approach to solidified CO<sub>2</sub> generation and application largely counteracts previous limitations, which are mainly related to the low cost-effectiveness of the production process.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2324anaerobic digestiondewateringpretreatmentsanitizationsewage sludgesolidified carbon dioxide |
| spellingShingle | Joanna Kazimierowicz Marcin Dębowski Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management International Journal of Molecular Sciences anaerobic digestion dewatering pretreatment sanitization sewage sludge solidified carbon dioxide |
| title | Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management |
| title_full | Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management |
| title_short | Characteristics of Solidified Carbon Dioxide and Perspectives for Its Sustainable Application in Sewage Sludge Management |
| title_sort | characteristics of solidified carbon dioxide and perspectives for its sustainable application in sewage sludge management |
| topic | anaerobic digestion dewatering pretreatment sanitization sewage sludge solidified carbon dioxide |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2324 |
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