VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY TRUONG QUOC DAI CO-HYDROTHERMAL CARBONNIZATION OF SLUDGE AND KITCHEN WASTE FOR ENERGY AND RESOURCE RECOVERY MASTER’S THESIS VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY TRUONG QUOC DAI CO-HYDROTHERMAL CARBONNIZATION OF SLUDGE AND KITCHEN WASTE FOR ENERGY AND RESOURCE RECOVERY MAJOR: ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CODE: 8520320.01 RESEARCH SUPERVISORS: Associate Prof. CAO THE HA Dr. NGUYEN THI AN HANG Hanoi, 2022 COMMITMENT I have read and understood the plagiarism violations. I pledge with personal honor that this research result is my own and does not violate the Regulation on prevention of plagiarism in academic and scientific research activities at VNU Vietnam Japan University (Issued together with Decision No 700/QD-ĐHVN dated 30/9/2021 by the Rector of Vietnam Japan University).
Author of thesis Truong Quoc Dai ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research would not have been possible without the direction, support, and patience of several people, with whom I have had the pleasure of interacting and learning over the past 2 years. Firstly, I'd want to convey my sincere gratitude to Assoc. Cao The Ha and Dr. Nguyen Thi An Hang for their passionate instruction and encouragement during my thesis implementation at VNU Vietnam Japan University (VNU-VJU).
Secondly, I'd like to take this occasion to acknowledge all of the professors, lecturers, and students at the Master’s Program in Environmental Engineering for their support and inspiration during my study at VNU-VJU, which is greatly appreciated. Thirdly, I am grateful to the financial support from the research project [QG.26] of Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Finally, my special thanks go to my friends Huong, Duc and Trang for their assistance and encouragement throughout this lengthy process. TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMITMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
TABLE OF CONTENT. LIST OF TABLES. i LIST OF FIGURES. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Municipals solid waste in the world and in Vietnam 4 2. Environmental concerns and potential use of sludge 4 2. Environmental issues and potential use of kitchen waste 12 2.
Municipal solid waste treatment technologies 14 2. Technologies for energy and nutrient recovery from sludge and kitchen waste 20 2. Combination of AD and HTC 28 2. Crystallization of MAP (struvite) 31 3.
CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS. Co-hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge and kitchen waste 36 3. Determination of composition and energy properties of raw materials and synthesized hydrochars 37 3. Crystallization and characterization of MAP from HTC process water 37 3.
Measurement and calculation methods 39 3. High Heating Value (HHV) 41 3. Environmental parameter analysis 42 3. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 45 3.
Statical data analysis 48 4. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Energy potential of hydrochar 49 4. Characteristics of hydrochar 49 4.
Energy potential of hydrochar 52 4. Nutrient recovery from HTC process water 54 4. Characteristics of HTC process water 54 4. Economic feasibility study of energy and nutrient recovery – a case study 65 4.
Technical economic analysis (TEC) 74 5. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .91 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1:The total number of domestic wastewater treatment facilities and the estimated sewage sludge generation in the different provinces of Vietnam (The World Bank, 2018) .2: Vietnam's policies of building a sustainable lifestyle .3: Composition of solid waste components in Vietnam (% weight) (Ministry of natural resources & environment, 2019) .4: The pros and cons of the existing technologies for solid (Kaza & Bhada-Tata, 2018) .5: Waste-to-Energy Recovery Methods (Oladejo et al.6: A summary of the literature on HTC .7: A summary of the literature on HTC process water .8: AD's energy recovery and GHG reduction potential (Tyagi et al.9: Optimum pH for MAP crystallization from HTC process water .1: Conditions and results of the experiment 1 .2: Concentration of nutrients in HTC process water before and after Kjeldahl conversion .3: Conditions and results of the experiment 2 .4: Conditions and results of the experiment 3 .5: Mass flow rates entering the HTC plant .6:Capital cost estimate of bare-module equipment for the HTC plant .7: Total capital investment for HTC plan .8: UASB tank operating parameters .9: Capital cost of UASB (steel carbon) .10: Capital cost of struvite production .11: quantity and price of chemicals for each scenario.12: The annual economic evaluation of the process .13: Mass balance of co-HTC 2h with SS 3KW .74 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Reduce, reuse, and recycle hierarchy (Oyenuga, 2015) .2: Sewage sludge recovery routes in Europe in 2017 (Gillman 2019) .3: Untreated sludge discharged into the environment .4: Mechanisms of anaerobic digestion process (Al Mamun, 2015).5: Module for zero waste disposal by using AD and HTC .6: SEM image of MAP recovered from desorption solution at the optimal condition (Nguyen 2015) .1: Samples of sludge before and after moisture content .3: Collecting and sorting kitchen waste .4: Hydrothermal carbonization reactor with Teflon inner compartment and stainless-steel outer cover .6: Jar test equipment (JT-M6C, Daihan, Korea) for MAP crystallization .7: Experiment to do MAP crystallization .8: The bomb calorimeter (6200 Isoperibol, Parr, USA) .9: UV-vis spectrophotometer S2150UV .10: Calibration curve for TN determination .11: Calibration curve for TP determination .12: Calibration curve for determination of COD .13: Calibration curve for determination of N-NH3 .14: Calibration curve for determination of P-PO4 .1: Raw materials for HTC process .2: Hydrochars with different mass ratios of feed materials (a) Sewage sludge (1:0), (b) sewage sludge + kitchen waste (3:1), (c) sewage sludge + kitchen waste (1:1), (d) sewage sludge + kitchen waste (1:3), and (e) kitchen waste (0:1) .3: The percentage of volatile matter in the feed materials and hydrochars .4: The percentage of ash in the feed materials and hydrochars .5: The percentage of fixed carbon in the feed materials and hydrochars .6: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on HHV values of the feed materials and hydrochars .7: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the mass yield of hydrochars .8: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the energy density of hydrochars .9: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the energy yield of hydrochars 53 Figure 4.10: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the pH concentration in the HTC process water .11: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the COD concentration in the HTC process water .12: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the TN concentration in the HTC process water .13: Effects of mixing ratio and HTC time on the TP concentration in the HTC process water .15: Image of the precipitate obtained from experiment 1 .16: SEM images of MAP recovered from experiment 1 .17: Kjendahl digestion unit (DK6, Velp, EU) .18: Image of the precipitate obtained from experiment 2 .19: SEM images of MAP recovered from experiment 2 .20: The image of the precipitate obtained from the experiment 3 .21: The SEM image of the precipitate obtained from the experiment 3 .22: Schematic flow sheet of the HTC plant.23: Mass and energy balance of SS and 3 KW at 2000C thermal treatment .75 iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AD: Anaerobic Digestion ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand DC: Direct cost DM: Dry Matter EC: Electrical Conductivity EWF: Energy, waste and food FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization FC: Fixed Carbon HC: Hydrochar HHV: Higher Heating Value HTC: Hydrothermal Carbonization GHG: Greenhouse gas KW: Kitchen waste MAP: Magnesium ammonium phosphate MSW: Municipal solid waste MTOE: Million tonnes of oil equivalent NCASI: National Council for Air and Stream Improvement OFMSW: Organic fraction municipal solid waste PS: Pinewood saw dust PSS: Primary sewage sludge SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope SMEWW: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water SS: Sewage sludge TCI: Total capital investment TDC: Total depreciable capital TEC: Technical economic analysis TN: Total Nitrogen TP: Total Phosphorus URENCO: Urban Environment Limited Company US EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency VM: Volatile Matter VTV: Vietnam Television WM: Waste mixed WtE: Waste to Energy WWTPs: Wastewater treatment plants iv 1. Research background A growing number of corporations and local governments are adopting the circular economy concept as a key principle for their industrial and environmental policies. China and South Korea have maintained industrial parks that employ circular economy ideas to integrate company supply chains and reuse or recycle common resources over the last two decades.
China has approved about fifty of these parks. The European Union (EU) and Japan have enacted legislation about eco-design, held companies accountable for their goods after use, and expanded markets for secondary materials. Some governments and corporations in the United States have established networks for resource sharing and recycling. Brazil and India employ informal recycling schemes (Geng et al.
“A regenerative system that minimizes resource input, waste, emission, and energy leakage by slowing down, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops via long- term design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing is its supporters' claims (Geissdoerfer et al. A circular economy is defined as "an economic system that substitutes the idea of "end-of-life" with minimizing, alternatively reusing, recycling, and recovering resources in production, distribution and consumption processes." It works at the micro (products, firms, consumers), meso (eco-industrial parks), and macro levels (city, region, country, and beyond) to achieve sustainable development, so producing environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social equality for present and future generations. It is made possible by innovative businesses and conscientious customers (Camacho-Otero et al. From production and use to disposal to market for recovered materials and recovery, Circular Economy introduces "closing the loop" material/product lifecycle concept.
Closing the loop between end-of-life and manufacturing keeps resources, materials, and products moving and retains their energy, material, and economic worth inside the economy. These rules have changed the amount of trash available for use in Waste-to- Energy/Waste-to-Biomethane systems (Tomić et al. Urban energy systems 1 include electricity, natural gas, and transportation systems that use waste-derived energy carriers. They replace principal energy carriers, resulting in a partial fuel shift.
Due to their interconnectedness, Waste Mixed (WM) planning must be undertaken in collaboration with the energy system and urban planning. The Circular Economy Package's "closing the loop" idea is advanced by the fact that produced energy carriers may be utilized to power WM systems on a local (city size) or broader (system scale) level (Tomić & Schneider, 2018). Research significance Recently, there has been more focus on finding renewable fuel sources to replace non- renewable fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and petroleum coke, which are used to make electricity and power. This is because pollution and global warming are caused by the use of these fuels.
Both biochar and hydrochar have been made from waste renewable biomass through thermochemical and hydrothermal conversion processes. Char, which comes from the thermochemical and hydrothermal breakdown of biomass, is seen as a green alternative to solid hydrocarbons like coal and petroleum coke. Therefore, this thesis is meaningful in developing and diversifying new energy sources and, at the same time, can solve economic problems in waste treatment and resource recovery through hydrochar manufacturing. Although several studies are available on fabrication of hydrochars from different materials such as sawdust, organic waste, sewage sludge, etc., very little research has been done on co-hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC) of sewage sludge and organic waste as well as nutrient recovery from HTC process water.
The use of co-HTC in sewage sludge and kitchen waste because they are discharged into the environment a lot but the treatment efficiency is not high, in addition, they have a high moisture content with Kitchen Waste (>50%) and sewage sludge (>80 %). Co-HTC has a huge potential for energy and nutrient recovery. Research objective In this thesis, the author's ultimate goal is to apply a technology that allows efficient recovery of energy and nutrients from kitchen waste and municipal sludge in the direction of circular economy.