Rate determination of supercritical water gasification of primary sewage sludge as a replacement for anaerobic digestion

Abstract

Supercritical water gasification of primary sewage sludge sampled from a local facility was undertaken at different solids content. The performance of the process was compared with the anaerobic digestion system in use at the facility where the samples were taken. The mass and composition of the vapor products documented showed that the process generates more energy per gram of feed while rapidly destroying more volatile solids relative to the anaerobic digestion process. However, the energy input requirements are greater for supercritical water gasification. This study defines parameters for a model of the gasification reaction using the power law and Arrhenius equation. The activation energy was estimated to be 15kJ/mol, and the reaction order was estimated to be 0.586. This model allows estimation of the size of a supercritical water reactor needed to replace the anaerobic digesters that are currently used at the wastewater treatment plant.