Treatment of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ultrafiltration and air stripping for oil and particle removal and ammonia recovery

Ali Sayegh; Nikhil Shylaja Prakash; Thomas Helmer Pedersen; Harald Horn; Florencia Saravia

doi:10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427

Treatment of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ultrafiltration and air stripping for oil and particle removal and ammonia recovery

Ali Sayegh, Nikhil Shylaja Prakash, Thomas Helmer Pedersen, Harald Horn, Florencia Saravia^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the application of ultrafiltration technology for the separation of particles and oil droplets and the recovery of ammonia from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) wastewater. Real HTL wastewater from the hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sewage sludge was used in this study. Experiments were carried out using a submerged polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cutoff of 100 kDa in combination with air stripping and addition to acid and base traps for recovery of volatiles. Results showed, that the best operation mode of ultrafiltration is with backwash cycles of the permeate, maintaining a flux lower than the critical flux of 6 L/h·m². The setup led to fast stripping of ammonia, which was successfully recovered by 88% in the acid trap. This application can be considered an adequate first stage treatment of the HTL wastewater. The importance of this work is that it proves that membrane technology can be successful in treating complex real HTL wastewater, and is not only limited for applications using model solutions.

Original language	English
Article number	102427
Journal	Journal of Water Process Engineering
Volume	44
ISSN	2214-7144
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413. (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks). The authors would like to thank Steeper Energy (https://steeperenergy.com/) for the processing of the sludge and supply of the water phase used for the study. The authors would like to thank the KIT Research Laboratories at the Engler-Bunte-Institut Water Chemistry and Water Technology, and at Institute of Catalysis and Technology Research for their experimental support, and the DVGW research center at the Engler-Bunte-Institut. Axel Heidt, Ulrich Reichert, Reinhard Sembritzki and Matthias Weber (Engler-Bunte-Institut) are acknowledged for their assistance in laboratory experiments.

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413 . (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Keywords

Air stripping
Ammonia recovery
Hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater
Oil and particle removal
Ultrafiltration

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427

AUB Link

Search for the material in Aalborg University Library's search engine

Cite this

@article{2fb9b452892d43c8b27f8c2678d3d6e2,

title = "Treatment of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ultrafiltration and air stripping for oil and particle removal and ammonia recovery",

abstract = "This study aims to evaluate the application of ultrafiltration technology for the separation of particles and oil droplets and the recovery of ammonia from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) wastewater. Real HTL wastewater from the hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sewage sludge was used in this study. Experiments were carried out using a submerged polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cutoff of 100 kDa in combination with air stripping and addition to acid and base traps for recovery of volatiles. Results showed, that the best operation mode of ultrafiltration is with backwash cycles of the permeate, maintaining a flux lower than the critical flux of 6 L/h·m2. The setup led to fast stripping of ammonia, which was successfully recovered by 88% in the acid trap. This application can be considered an adequate first stage treatment of the HTL wastewater. The importance of this work is that it proves that membrane technology can be successful in treating complex real HTL wastewater, and is not only limited for applications using model solutions.",

keywords = "Air stripping, Ammonia recovery, Hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater, Oil and particle removal, Ultrafiltration",

author = "Ali Sayegh and {Shylaja Prakash}, Nikhil and Pedersen, {Thomas Helmer} and Harald Horn and Florencia Saravia",

note = "Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413. (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks). The authors would like to thank Steeper Energy (https://steeperenergy.com/) for the processing of the sludge and supply of the water phase used for the study. The authors would like to thank the KIT Research Laboratories at the Engler-Bunte-Institut Water Chemistry and Water Technology, and at Institute of Catalysis and Technology Research for their experimental support, and the DVGW research center at the Engler-Bunte-Institut. Axel Heidt, Ulrich Reichert, Reinhard Sembritzki and Matthias Weber (Engler-Bunte-Institut) are acknowledged for their assistance in laboratory experiments. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413 . (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427",

language = "English",

volume = "44",

journal = "Journal of Water Process Engineering",

issn = "2214-7144",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Treatment of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ultrafiltration and air stripping for oil and particle removal and ammonia recovery

AU - Sayegh, Ali

AU - Shylaja Prakash, Nikhil

AU - Pedersen, Thomas Helmer

AU - Horn, Harald

AU - Saravia, Florencia

N1 - Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413. (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks). The authors would like to thank Steeper Energy (https://steeperenergy.com/) for the processing of the sludge and supply of the water phase used for the study. The authors would like to thank the KIT Research Laboratories at the Engler-Bunte-Institut Water Chemistry and Water Technology, and at Institute of Catalysis and Technology Research for their experimental support, and the DVGW research center at the Engler-Bunte-Institut. Axel Heidt, Ulrich Reichert, Reinhard Sembritzki and Matthias Weber (Engler-Bunte-Institut) are acknowledged for their assistance in laboratory experiments. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 818413 . (NextGenRoadFuel - Sustainable Drop-In Transport fuels from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Value Urban Feedstocks). Publisher Copyright: © 2021

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - This study aims to evaluate the application of ultrafiltration technology for the separation of particles and oil droplets and the recovery of ammonia from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) wastewater. Real HTL wastewater from the hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sewage sludge was used in this study. Experiments were carried out using a submerged polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cutoff of 100 kDa in combination with air stripping and addition to acid and base traps for recovery of volatiles. Results showed, that the best operation mode of ultrafiltration is with backwash cycles of the permeate, maintaining a flux lower than the critical flux of 6 L/h·m2. The setup led to fast stripping of ammonia, which was successfully recovered by 88% in the acid trap. This application can be considered an adequate first stage treatment of the HTL wastewater. The importance of this work is that it proves that membrane technology can be successful in treating complex real HTL wastewater, and is not only limited for applications using model solutions.

AB - This study aims to evaluate the application of ultrafiltration technology for the separation of particles and oil droplets and the recovery of ammonia from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) wastewater. Real HTL wastewater from the hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sewage sludge was used in this study. Experiments were carried out using a submerged polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cutoff of 100 kDa in combination with air stripping and addition to acid and base traps for recovery of volatiles. Results showed, that the best operation mode of ultrafiltration is with backwash cycles of the permeate, maintaining a flux lower than the critical flux of 6 L/h·m2. The setup led to fast stripping of ammonia, which was successfully recovered by 88% in the acid trap. This application can be considered an adequate first stage treatment of the HTL wastewater. The importance of this work is that it proves that membrane technology can be successful in treating complex real HTL wastewater, and is not only limited for applications using model solutions.

KW - Air stripping

KW - Ammonia recovery

KW - Hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater

KW - Oil and particle removal

KW - Ultrafiltration

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119085683&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427

DO - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102427

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85119085683

SN - 2214-7144

VL - 44

JO - Journal of Water Process Engineering

JF - Journal of Water Process Engineering

M1 - 102427

ER -

Treatment of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ultrafiltration and air stripping for oil and particle removal and ammonia recovery

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

AUB Link

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this