Cross-sectoral synergy between municipal wastewater treatment, cement manufacture and petrochemical synthesis via clean transformation of sewage sludge

Sicong Tian*, Jingjing Chen, Feng Yan, Candace Lang, Vladimir Strezov, Zuotai Zhang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6274-6282
Number of pages9
JournalSustainable Energy and Fuels
Volume4
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2020

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cross-sectoral synergy between municipal wastewater treatment, cement manufacture and petrochemical synthesis via clean transformation of sewage sludge'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this