Co-Management of Sewage Sludge and Other Organic Wastes: A Scandinavian Case Study

Clara Fernando-Foncillas, Maria M. Estevez, Hinrich Uellendahl and Cristiano Varrone
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Clara Fernando-Foncillas: Section for Sustainable Biotechnology, Aalborg University Copenhagen, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
Maria M. Estevez: Aquateam COWI, Karvesvingen 2, 0579 Oslo, Norway
Hinrich Uellendahl: Faculty of Mechanical and Process Engineering and Maritime Technologies, Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, Kanzleistr. 91–93, 24943 Flensburg, Germany
Cristiano Varrone: Section for Sustainable Biotechnology, Aalborg University Copenhagen, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: Wastewater and sewage sludge contain organic matter that can be valorized through conversion into energy and/or green chemicals. Moreover, resource recovery from these wastes has become the new focus of wastewater management, to develop more sustainable processes in a circular economy approach. The aim of this review was to analyze current sewage sludge management systems in Scandinavia with respect to resource recovery, in combination with other organic wastes. As anaerobic digestion (AD) was found to be the common sludge treatment approach in Scandinavia, different available organic municipal and industrial wastes were identified and compared, to evaluate the potential for expanding the resource recovery by anaerobic co-digestion. Additionally, a full-scale case study of co-digestion, as strategy for optimization of the anaerobic digestion treatment, was presented for each country, together with advanced biorefinery approaches to wastewater treatment and resource recovery.

Keywords: waste management; wastewater; sewage sludge; organic waste; anaerobic digestion; co-digestion; biorefinery; 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 (4)

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