Abstract
The escalating generation of biosolids and increasing regulations regarding their safe handling and disposal have created a great environmental challenge. Recently, biosolids have been incorporated into the hydrolysis step of a two-step thermal lipid conversion process to act as water replacement in the production of renewable chemicals and fuels. Here, the hexane extract recovered from hydrolysis of biosolids, lipids from brown grease hydrolyzed using either water (control) or biosolids as a water replacement, was pyrolyzed at 410–450 °C for 2 h. The product distribution and composition were not significantly different when biosolids were used to hydrolyze brown grease instead of water. The liquid product consisted mainly of alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, and cyclic compounds similar to those in petroleum-derived liquid fuels. However, the use of biosolids as a water substitute resulted in a significant increase in sulphur content of the pyrolysate, which will necessitate processes to reduce the sulphur content before or after pyrolysis. Nevertheless, the pathways proposed in this paper are considered as potentially economically viable approaches to not only resolve the issues associated with disposal of biosolids but also to produce renewable hydrocarbons for fuel and chemical applications.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Biosolids are byproducts of all municipal wastewater treatment plants
The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether the lipid fraction obtained from hydrolysis of brown grease with biosolids can be used in pyrolysis reactions to produce renewable hydrocarbons, which can be used as fuels and chemicals
In the second set of experiments (“Pyrolysis of organic fractions obtained from hydrolysis of brown grease with biosolids” section), the organic phase isolated from hydrolysates of brown grease generated using water or biosolids was pyrolyzed to determine whether biosolids could serve as a water replacement for lipid pyrolysis without impacting the pyrolysis product
Summary
Biosolids are byproducts of all municipal wastewater treatment plants. The generation of biosolids has increased continuously and substantially due to the rapid population growth in cities. The handling and safe disposal of biosolids have become a great challenge for communities around the world (Collivignarelli et al 2019; Fytili and Zabaniotou 2008). Iglesias and Morales (2012) estimated that more than 20 million tonnes of dry biosolids are produced worldwide every year in 2011 and an estimated 13 million tonnes will be produced by 2020 in just the European Union (Kominko et al 2017). The cost of biosolids processing can often be more than 50% of the total wastewater treatment costs (Collivignarelli et al 2019; Rulkens 2007; Zhao et al 2019).
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