Abstract
Brazil is currently focused on its energy matrix transition in favor of increasing of the share of renewable energy carriers for both enhanced energy security and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the country`s pulp and paper industry whose different wastes teams are not generally exploited, could play a critical role. Accordingly, the main objective of this work is to develop a conceptual ‘systemic’ biorefinery framework integrating the treatment of pulp and paper mill wastewater using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor with energy recovery through biogas production and its conversion into heat and power in stationary engines and boilers, respectively. Based on the results obtained through the present case study, it was revealed that the adoption of UASB reactors by the paper mill industry could properly addresses the environmental concerns faced while could contribute to the national agenda favoring an increasing share of renewable energies in the country`s energy matrix. The financial analysis showed that the investment required for the implementation of UASB reactors within a biorefinery platform would be minor vs. the investment in the whole mill and would be returned in 6.4 yr with a high return on investment even when operated at half of operational capacity. Moreover, through the developed UASB reactor-based biorefinery, the Brazilian pulp and paper industry as a whole could avoid 1.06 ×105 CO2eq tons, effectively contributing to the decarbonization of the country`s economy.
Highlights
Bioenergy produced from biological resources and different biomasses, rich in carbon structures, including wood and agricultural wastes can be exploited for the production of heat, electricity, or fuels, contributing to the global decarbonization
Brazilian efforts to increase the production and use of renewable energy carriers were strongly accelerated after the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) and after the establishment of RenovaBio - a state policy that aims to draw up a joint strategy to recognize the strategic role of all types of bioenergies in the Brazilian energy matrix, both for energy security and for mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions purposes (MME, 2018a)
The present case study was devoted to develop a conceptual ‘systemic’ biorefinery framework developed for a paper mill located in São Paulo state, Brazil. The elements of this biorefinery included an advanced three-phased wastewater treatment plant to simultaneously treat pulp and paper mill wastewater and produce biogas using Anaerobic digestion (AD) (UASB reactors) biogas coupled to energy recovery in boilers for thermal (TP) and electricity generation (EP) (Fig. 1)
Summary
Bioenergy produced from biological resources and different biomasses, rich in carbon structures, including wood and agricultural wastes can be exploited for the production of heat, electricity, or fuels, contributing to the global decarbonization. Energy matrix transition in the developing countries such as Brazil, lacks an effective strategy to valorize wastewaters and residues through energy recycling while there is a huge dependence on fossil fuels (57% of the total domestic energy supply) as well as on hydro and thermoelectric energies (65.2% and 27.8% of the domestic electricity supply including renewable and non-renewable sources, respectively) (EPE, 2018). At the COP 21, Brazil committed to reduce its GHG emissions to 37% and 43% less than its 2005 baseline by 2025 and 2030, respectively (MMA, 2018)
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