Recovery of Cellulose, Extracellular Polymeric Substances and Microplastics from Sewage Sludge: A Review

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants are considered to be not only as treatment facilities, but also essential elements of the circular economy. Wastewater treatment plants can be essential chains of the circular economy cycle. Despite this, sewage sludge management and utilization are mostly limited to biodegradation and further agricultural uses or incineration. The recovery of valuable products is mainly limited to nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Fewer analyses focus on generating, recovering, and removing various polymers from sewage sludge, such as cellulose or extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). On the other hand, sewage sludge also contains polymeric pollutants, such as microplastics. The recovery and use of biopolymers is significant considering the problems connected with the presence and effects of artificial polymers (microplastics) in the environment. Despite the technical possibilities, not many technical scale installations are operated. Law regulations should make some incentives to develop the technologies and sell the recovered polymers in the market not as waste material, but as a valuable product. This paper presents state-of-the-art technologies for selected polymers’ recovery from sludge, including technical parameters of the processes and possible applications of recovered products, but it also considers the possibility of microplastics’ removal from this waste material.