TY - JOUR
T1 - Resource recovery assessment at a pulp mill wastewater treatment plant in Uruguay
AU - Bentancur, S.
AU - López-Vázquez, C. M.
AU - García, H. A.
AU - Duarte, M.
AU - Travers, D.
AU - Brdjanovic, D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Using a mathematical model, a resource recovery assessment was carried out at a pulp mill activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Uruguay. Through the evaluation of different scenarios, the potential production of methane from secondary sludge, with its inherent energy savings, and the recovery of phosphorus (P) as struvite were estimated. Considering the current WWTP configuration with a sludge retention time (SRT) of 32 days, and according to the model, which is a simplification of reality, the assessment indicates that the implementation of an anaerobic digester (AD) to treat the excess sludge can lead to a methane production of approximately 1736 m3 CH4 d−1, being a promising alternative to increase the WWTP treatment performance. Furthermore, the model predictions suggest that by shortening the SRT from 32 to 5 days, the methane production could increase by up to 5568 m3 CH4 d−1. If the methane produced is used to generate electrical energy to operate the WWTP, energy savings of about 88% can be achieved. Regarding the potential recovery of P as struvite, the addition of a struvite reactor could be an efficient option to recover approximately 1611 mg L−1 of struvite (corresponding to a load of about 433 kg d−1). By optimizing the process performance, these findings highlight the potential recovery of resources in pulp mill WWTP, while complying with stringent effluent discharge standards. In addition, further research activities such as pilot-test or detailed laboratory studies may be needed to validate the previous recommendations for industrial scale application.
AB - Using a mathematical model, a resource recovery assessment was carried out at a pulp mill activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Uruguay. Through the evaluation of different scenarios, the potential production of methane from secondary sludge, with its inherent energy savings, and the recovery of phosphorus (P) as struvite were estimated. Considering the current WWTP configuration with a sludge retention time (SRT) of 32 days, and according to the model, which is a simplification of reality, the assessment indicates that the implementation of an anaerobic digester (AD) to treat the excess sludge can lead to a methane production of approximately 1736 m3 CH4 d−1, being a promising alternative to increase the WWTP treatment performance. Furthermore, the model predictions suggest that by shortening the SRT from 32 to 5 days, the methane production could increase by up to 5568 m3 CH4 d−1. If the methane produced is used to generate electrical energy to operate the WWTP, energy savings of about 88% can be achieved. Regarding the potential recovery of P as struvite, the addition of a struvite reactor could be an efficient option to recover approximately 1611 mg L−1 of struvite (corresponding to a load of about 433 kg d−1). By optimizing the process performance, these findings highlight the potential recovery of resources in pulp mill WWTP, while complying with stringent effluent discharge standards. In addition, further research activities such as pilot-test or detailed laboratory studies may be needed to validate the previous recommendations for industrial scale application.
KW - Biogas
KW - Industrial wastewater
KW - Phosphorus recovery
KW - Pulp mill
KW - Struvite
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075516725&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109718
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109718
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 31785459
AN - SCOPUS:85075516725
SN - 0301-4797
VL - 255
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
M1 - 109718
ER -