LAPSE:2023.20041
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.20041
Cascade Membrane System for Separation of Water and Organics from Liquid By-Products of HTC of the Agricultural Digestate—Evaluation of Performance
March 10, 2023
Abstract
New regulations aimed at curbing the problem of eutrophication introduce limitations for traditional ways to use the by-product of anaerobic digestion—the digestate. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can be a viable way to valorise the digestate in an energy-efficient manner and at the same time maximise the synergy in terms of recovery of water, nutrients, followed by more efficient use of the remaining carbon. Additionally, hydrothermal treatment is a feasible way to recirculate recalcitrant process residues. Recirculation to anaerobic digestion enables recovery of a significant part of chemical energy lost in HTC by organics dissolved in the liquid effluent. Recirculating back to the HTC process can enhance nutrient recovery by making process water more acidic. However, such an effect of synergy can be exploited to its full extent only when viable separation techniques are applied to separate organic by-products of HTC and water. The results presented in this study show that using cascade membrane systems (microfiltration (MF) → ultrafiltration (UF) → nanofiltration (NF)), using polymeric membranes, can facilitate such separation. The best results were obtained by conducting sequential treatment of the liquid by-product of HTC in the following membrane sequence: MF 0.2 µm → UF PES 10 → NF NPO30P, which allowed reaching COD removal efficiency of almost 60%.
New regulations aimed at curbing the problem of eutrophication introduce limitations for traditional ways to use the by-product of anaerobic digestion—the digestate. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can be a viable way to valorise the digestate in an energy-efficient manner and at the same time maximise the synergy in terms of recovery of water, nutrients, followed by more efficient use of the remaining carbon. Additionally, hydrothermal treatment is a feasible way to recirculate recalcitrant process residues. Recirculation to anaerobic digestion enables recovery of a significant part of chemical energy lost in HTC by organics dissolved in the liquid effluent. Recirculating back to the HTC process can enhance nutrient recovery by making process water more acidic. However, such an effect of synergy can be exploited to its full extent only when viable separation techniques are applied to separate organic by-products of HTC and water. The results presented in this study show that using cascade membrane systems (microfiltration (MF) → ultrafiltration (UF) → nanofiltration (NF)), using polymeric membranes, can facilitate such separation. The best results were obtained by conducting sequential treatment of the liquid by-product of HTC in the following membrane sequence: MF 0.2 µm → UF PES 10 → NF NPO30P, which allowed reaching COD removal efficiency of almost 60%.
Record ID
Keywords
biogas plant, digestate, hydrothermal carbonisation, membrane processes, water recovery
Suggested Citation
Urbanowska A, Kabsch-Korbutowicz M, Aragon-Briceño C, Wnukowski M, Pożarlik A, Niedzwiecki L, Baranowski M, Czerep M, Seruga P, Pawlak-Kruczek H, Bramer E, Brem G. Cascade Membrane System for Separation of Water and Organics from Liquid By-Products of HTC of the Agricultural Digestate—Evaluation of Performance. (2023). LAPSE:2023.20041
Author Affiliations
Urbanowska A: Department of Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Kabsch-Korbutowicz M: Department of Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Aragon-Briceño C: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Wnukowski M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Pożarlik A: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Niedzwiecki L: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Baranowski M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Czerep M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Seruga P: Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Wroclaw University of Economics, Komandorska 118/120, 53-345 Wrocław, Poland; Zakład Gospodarowania Odpadami GAĆ Sp. z o.o., Gać 90, 55-200 Oława, Poland [ORCID]
Pawlak-Kruczek H: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Bramer E: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands [ORCID]
Brem G: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Kabsch-Korbutowicz M: Department of Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Aragon-Briceño C: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Wnukowski M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Pożarlik A: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Niedzwiecki L: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Baranowski M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Czerep M: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]
Seruga P: Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Wroclaw University of Economics, Komandorska 118/120, 53-345 Wrocław, Poland; Zakład Gospodarowania Odpadami GAĆ Sp. z o.o., Gać 90, 55-200 Oława, Poland [ORCID]
Pawlak-Kruczek H: Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Bramer E: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands [ORCID]
Brem G: Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
16
First Page
4752
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-08-05
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en14164752, Publication Type: Journal Article
Record Map
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.20041
This Record
External Link
https://doi.org/10.3390/en14164752
Publisher Version
Download
Meta
Record Statistics
Record Views
200
Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Mar 10, 2023
Verified by curator on
Mar 10, 2023
This Version Number
v1
Citations
Most Recent
This Version
URL Here
https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2023.20041
Record Owner
Auto Uploader for LAPSE
Links to Related Works