TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-sectoral synergy between municipal wastewater treatment, cement manufacture and petrochemical synthesis via clean transformation of sewage sludge
AU - Tian, Sicong
AU - Chen, Jingjing
AU - Yan, Feng
AU - Lang, Candace
AU - Strezov, Vladimir
AU - Zhang, Zuotai
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - The municipal wastewater treatment sector requires sustainable
management of sewage sludge to fundamentally contribute to building
zero-waste cities. Herein, we propose an integrated material-flow
strategy to make full use of sewage sludge by combining its clean
transformation with cement manufacture and petrochemical synthesis.
Based on the multi-stage thermochemical conversion process which could
effectively reduce the emission of carbonaceous pollutants, the organic
components in sludge are converted to syngas with tunable H2/CO
molar ratios, while the remaining inorganic components are used to
prepare eco-friendly cement clinkers. Under the conditions investigated
in this study, 8.9 kmol of syngas with a gross H2/CO
molar ratio of 1.7 and 1.9 tonnes of cement clinkers with a sludge-ash
replacement ratio of 30.9% can be produced from one tonne of dried raw
sewage sludge. The proposed strategy allows sewage sludge to be an
alternative feedstock, partially replacing natural resources, to produce
petrochemicals and cementitious materials, offering a new pathway to
cross-sectoral synergy among municipal wastewater treatment, cement
manufacture and petrochemical synthesis.
AB - The municipal wastewater treatment sector requires sustainable
management of sewage sludge to fundamentally contribute to building
zero-waste cities. Herein, we propose an integrated material-flow
strategy to make full use of sewage sludge by combining its clean
transformation with cement manufacture and petrochemical synthesis.
Based on the multi-stage thermochemical conversion process which could
effectively reduce the emission of carbonaceous pollutants, the organic
components in sludge are converted to syngas with tunable H2/CO
molar ratios, while the remaining inorganic components are used to
prepare eco-friendly cement clinkers. Under the conditions investigated
in this study, 8.9 kmol of syngas with a gross H2/CO
molar ratio of 1.7 and 1.9 tonnes of cement clinkers with a sludge-ash
replacement ratio of 30.9% can be produced from one tonne of dried raw
sewage sludge. The proposed strategy allows sewage sludge to be an
alternative feedstock, partially replacing natural resources, to produce
petrochemicals and cementitious materials, offering a new pathway to
cross-sectoral synergy among municipal wastewater treatment, cement
manufacture and petrochemical synthesis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097188410&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/D0SE01164A
DO - 10.1039/D0SE01164A
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097188410
SN - 2398-4902
VL - 4
SP - 6274
EP - 6282
JO - Sustainable Energy and Fuels
JF - Sustainable Energy and Fuels
IS - 12
ER -