Seasonal treatment and economic evaluation of an algal wastewater system for energy and nutrient recovery

Li, Yalin; Slouka, Sydney A.; Henkanatte-Gedera, Shanka M.; Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany; Strathmann, Timothy J.

doi:10.1039/C9EW00242A

Seasonal treatment and economic evaluation of an algal wastewater system for energy and nutrient recovery

Journal Article · Tue Jul 02 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EW00242A· OSTI ID:1562865

^[1]; Slouka, Sydney A. ^[1]; Henkanatte-Gedera, Shanka M. ^[2]; Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany ^[2]; ^[3]

Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt); New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States)
Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Algal systems have been proposed for treating wastewater while simultaneously recovering energy and nutrients. In this study, an integrated system with algal treatment of municipal wastewater followed by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) conversion and upgrading steps was evaluated. Pilot-scale treatment of primary clarified municipal wastewater effluent was evaluated in different seasons (cold, warm, and a transitional period in between) with different strains of algae selected for each season, and the warm season strain successfully met all local discharge regulations. The collected wastewater algae biomass was subjected to HTL at 300 and 350 °C and both energy and nutrient recoveries were much improved at the higher temperature. The transitional batch was found to have the highest biocrude oil yields, and its co-products had the highest nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) contents. Economic analysis of conversion processes informed by the observed HTL product yields was conducted. While this revealed that targeting biofuel products alone was not profitable, adding nutrient co-products (e.g., ammonium sulfate fertilizer), adjusting algae harvesting time, and incorporating component-specific conversion processes could substantially improve system economics. Overall, this study highlights connections between treatment and conversion processes, and demonstrates how these connections can be leveraged for more efficient resource recovery without compromising treatment operations.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1562865

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5100-74863

Journal Information:: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 5; ISSN 2053-1400; ISSN ESWRAR

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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