Exploiting the Nutrient Potential of Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge: A Review

Nicola Di Costanzo, Alessandra Cesaro, Francesco Di Capua and Giovanni Esposito
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Nicola Di Costanzo: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Alessandra Cesaro: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco Di Capua: Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Giovanni Esposito: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-25

Abstract: The world is currently witnessing a rapid increase in sewage sludge (SS) production, due to the increased demand for wastewater treatment. Therefore, SS management is crucial for the economic and environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment plants. The recovery of nutrients from SS has been identified as a fundamental step to enable the transition from a linear to a circular economy, turning SS into an economic and sustainable source of materials. SS is often treated via anaerobic digestion, to pursue energy recovery via biogas generation. Anaerobically digested sewage sludge (ADS) is a valuable source of organic matter and nutrients, and significant advances have been made in recent years in methods and technologies for nutrient recovery from ADS. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview, describing the advantages and drawbacks of the available and emerging technologies for recovery of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) from ADS. This work critically reviews the established and novel technologies, which are classified by their ability to recover a specific nutrient (ammonia stripping) or to allow the simultaneous recovery of multiple elements (struvite precipitation, ion exchange, membrane technologies, and thermal treatments). This study compares the described technologies in terms of nutrient recovery efficiency, capital, and operational costs, as well as their feasibility for full-scale application, revealing the current state of the art and future perspectives on this topic.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; circular economy; nitrogen; phosphorus; potassium; resource recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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