Journal of Applied Economic Research
ISSN 2712-7435
Analysis of Sewage Sludge Alternatives Towards Circular Economy
A.V. Kiselev 1, E.R. Magaril 1, I.S. Glushankova 2, L.V. Rudakova 2
1 Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia
2 Perm National Research Polytechnic University Perm, Russia
Abstract
The article describes ways to solve the urgent issue of the pollution of water sources due to the imperfection of the technical and technological equipment of municipal wastewater treatment plants. The subject matter is considered from the perspective of the transition to the circular economy. One of the key elements of a sustainable development strategy in a circular economy is the development and implementation of policies for the modernization of municipal wastewater treatment plants in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. The goal of this research is to create a holistic assessment system of various technological solutions for the treatment of sewage sludge using life cycle assessment and material flow analysis methods for the transition towards the circular economy. The hypothesis of the present study assumes a specific set of technologies based on the waste-to-energy principle, in which it is possible to achieve net zero energy consumption in a wastewater treatment plant. A methodological framework for assessing the complete technological cycle of sewage sludge treatment and disposal using life cycle analysis and material flow analysis tools is proposed. The results are visualized using the Sankey chart. The authors test the proposed method according to data presented from real treatment facilities that operate in Ekaterinburg and Perm. As a result of the study, we found that the use of some waste-to-energy technologies for treating sewage sludge does not lead to the expected reduction in average net energy consumption along with a reduction in waste mass. Based on the research, leading techniques have been identified that make it possible to achieve net zero energy consumption of a wastewater treatment plant. The results of the study are clear and easy to interpret and can be used by managers of different levels to select the most optimal set of technological stages for the treatment and disposal of sewage sludge in accordance with the principles of the circular economy, including reference comparison through the national sectoral benchmarking system.
Keywords
sustainable development; economic security; assessment; wastewater treatment; sewage sludge; circular economy; key performance indicators; anaerobic digestion; pyrolysis; drying.
JEL classification
Q01, Q32References
1. Gherghel, A., Teodosiu, C., Notarnicola, M., de Gisi, S. (2020). Sustainable design of large wastewater treatment plants considering multi-criteria decision analysis and stakeholders’ involvement. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 261, 110158. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110158.
2. Kiselev, A., Magaril, E., Rada, E.C. (2019). Energy and sustainability assessment of municipal wastewater treatment under circular economy paradigm. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 237, 109–120. DOI: 10.2495/ESUS190101.
3. Casiano Flores, C., Bressers, H., Gutierrez, C., de Boer, C. (2018). Towards circular economy – a wastewater treatment perspective, the Presa Guadalupe case. Management Research Review, Vol. 41, Issue 5, 554–571. DOI: 10.1108/MRR-02-2018-0056.
4. Capodaglio, A.G., Olsson, G. (2020). Energy issues in sustainable urban wastewater management: Use, demand reduction and recovery in the urban water cycle. Sustainability, Vol. 12, Issue 1, 266. DOI: 10.3390/su12010266.
5. Yu, Y., Zou, Z., Wang, S. (2019). Statistical regression modeling for energy consumption in wastewater treatment. Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol. 75, 201–208. DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2018.03.023.
6. Langone, M., Ferrentino, R., Trombino, G., Waubert De Puiseau, D, Rada, E.C., Ragazzi, M. (2015). Application of a novel hydrodynamic cavitation system in wastewater treatment plants. UPB Scientific Bulletin. Series D, Vol. 77, Issue 1, 225–234.
7. Yan, P., Qin, R.-C., Guo, J.-S., Yu, Q., Li, Z., Shen, Y., Fang, F. (2017). Net-zero-energy model for sustainable wastewater treatment. Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 2, 1017–1023. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04735.
8. Awad, H., Gar Alalm, M., El-Etriby, H.K. (2019). Environmental and cost life cycle assessment of different alternatives for improvement of wastewater treatment plants in developing countries. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 660, 57–68. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.386.
9. Hares, M., Dayem, M.A. (2017). Difficulties encountered in executing and running of waste water plants in developing countries. Coating Conference. Proceedings of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, 175–185.
10. Ragazzi, M., Catellani, R., Rada, E.C., Torretta, V., Salazar-Valenzuela, X. (2016). Management of urban wastewater on one of the Galapagos Islands. Sustainability, Vol. 8, Issue 3, 208. DOI: 10.3390/su8030208.
11. Saidani, M., Yannou, B., Leroy, Y., Cluzel, F., Kendall, A. (2019). A taxonomy of circular economy indicators. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 207, 542–559. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.014.
12. Pinter, L. (2006). International Experience in Establishing Indicators for the Circular Economy and Considerations for China. Report for the Environment and Social Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. The World Bank. Available at: https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/measure_circular_economy_china.pdf.
13. Lind, M., Witherspoon, J., Gokul, B., Surti, J. (2013). From wastewater treatment to total resource recovery – Changes are Happening in Auckland. 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, Vol. 9, 5729–5747.
14. Oladejo, J., Shi, K., Luo, X., Yang, G., Wu, T. (2019). A Review of Sludge-to-Energy Recovery Methods. Energies, Vol. 12, Issue 1, 60. DOI: 10.3390/en12010060.
15. Kiselev, A., Magaril, E., Magaril, R., Panepinto, D., Ravina, M., Zanetti, M.C. (2019). Towards circular economy: evaluation of sewage sludge biogas solutions. Resources, Vol. 8, Issue 2, 91. DOI: 10.3390/resources8020091.
16. Turovsky, I.S. (2008). Osadki stochnykh vod. Obezvozhivanie i obezzarazhivanie (Treatment of sewage sludge). Moscow, DeLi print.
17. Bernadiner, I.M., Stepanova, T.A., Klyuchniko, A.D., Chevychelov, D.D., Khoreva, P.V., Nikolayev, D.A., Toumanovsky, V.A., Bernadiner, M.N. (2012). Thermal methods of sewage sludge neutralization. Ecology and Industry of Russia, No. 7, 4–7.
18. Paukov, A., Magaril, R., Magaril, E. (2019). An investigation of the feasibility of the organic municipal solid waste processing by coking. Sustainability, Vol. 11, Issue 2, 389. DOI: 10.3390/su11020389.
19. Merzari, F., Langone, M., Andreottola, G., Fiori, L. (2019). Methane production from process water of sewage sludge hydrothermal carbonization. A review. Valorising sludge through hydrothermal carbonization. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 11, 947–988. DOI: 10.1080/10643389.2018.1561104.
20. Rada, E.C., Ragazzi, M., Villotti, S., Torretta, V. (2014). Sewage sludge drying by energy recovery from OFMSW composting: Preliminary feasibility evaluation. Waste Management, Vol. 34, Issue 5, 859–866. DOI: 1010.1016/j.wasman.2014.02.013.
21. Pintilie, L., Torres, C.M., Teodosiu, C., Castells, F. (2016). Urban wastewater reclamation for industrial reuse: An LCA case study. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 139, Issue 15, 1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.209.
22. Molina-Moreno, V., Leyva-Díaz, J.C., Llorens-Montes, F.J., Cortés-García, F.G. (2017). Design of indicators of circular economy as instruments for the evaluation of sustainability and efficiency in wastewater from pig farming industry. Water, Vol. 9, Issue 9, 653. DOI: 10.3390/w9090653.
23. Buonocore, E., Mellino, S., De Angelis, G., Liu, G., Ulgiati, S. (2018). Life cycle assessment indicators of urban wastewater and sewage sludge treatment. Ecological Indicators, Vol. 94, Part 3, 13–23. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.04.047.
24. Grönlund, S.E. (2019). Indicators and methods to assess sustainability of wastewater sludge management in the perspective of two systems ecology models. Ecological Indicators, Vol. 100, 45–54. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.013.
25. Papangelou, A., Achten, W., Mathijs, E. (2020). Phosphorus and energy flows through the food system of Brussels capital region. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 156, 104687. DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104687.
26. Fisher, R.M., Alvarez-Gaitan, J.P., Stuetz, R.M., Moore, S.J. (2017). Sulfur flows and biosolids processing: using material flux analysis (MFA) principles at wastewater treatment plants. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 198, 153–162. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.056.
27. Yuan, H., Xing, S., Lu, T., Huhetaoli, Chen, Y., Kobayashi, N. (2014). Main organic pollutants migration and transformation laws in sewage sludge landfill and composting process. WIT Transactions on Biomedicine and Health, Vol. 18, 1183–1190. DOI: 10.2495/HHME131342.
28. Mills, N., Pearce, P., Farrow, J., Thrope, R.B., Kirkby, N.F. (2014). Environmental & economic life cycle assessment of current & future sewage sludge to energy technologies. Waste Management, Vol. 34, 185–195. DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2013.08.024.
29. Grilc, V., Mislej, V., Šalej, S. (2010). Thermal utilisation of biologically stabilised and dried waste sludge from wastewater treatment plants. 3rd International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste. Venice.
30. Chen, G., Wang, X., Li, J., Yan, B., Wang, Y., Wu, X., Velichkova, R., Cheng, Zh., Ma, W. (2019). Environmental, energy, and economic analysis of integrated treatment of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge: A case study in China. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 647, 1433–1443. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.104.
31. Pincetl, S. (2012). A living city: using urban metabolism analysis to view cities as life forms. Metropolitan Sustainability. Understanding and Improving the Urban Environment. Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, 3–25. DOI: 10.1533/9780857096463.1.3.
32. Soundararajan, K., Ho, H.K., Su, B. (2014). Sankey diagram framework for energy and exergy flows. Applied Energy, Vol. 136, 1035–1042. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.08.070.
33. Trulli, E., Torretta, V., Rada, E.C. (2016). Water restoration of an urbanized karst stream by free-water-surface constructed wetlands as municipal wastewater post treatment. UPB Scientific Bulletin. Series D, Vol. 78, Issue 4, 163–174.
34. Kiselev, A.V., Magaril, E.R. (2019). Ensuring Water Treatment Assessment within Spatial Ecological and Economic Security Framework Towards Circular Economy (Obespechenie effektivnosti vodoochistki v usloviiakh tsirkuliarnoi ekonomiki kak element ekologo-ekonomicheskoi bezopasnosti territorii). Vestnik UrFU. Seriia ekonomika i upravlenie (Bulletin of Ural Federal University. Series Economics and Management), Vol. 18, No. 6, 911–929. (In Russ.).
About Authors
Kiselev Andrey Vladimirovich
Post-Graduate Student, Junior Research Fellow, Department of Environmental Economics, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); ORCID 0000-0002-4199-2582; e-mail: ipkiselyov@mail.ru.
Magaril Elena Romenovna
Doctor of Technical Science, Professor, Head of Department of Environmental Economics, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); ORCID 0000-0003-3034-9978; e-mail: magaril67@mail.ru.
Glushankova Irina Samuilovna
Doctor of Technical Science, Professor, Department of Environmental Protection, Perm National Research Polytechnic University, Perm, Russia (614990, Perm, Komsomolsky avenue, 29); ORCID 0000-0003-3376-8000; e-mail: irina_chem@mail.ru.
Rudakova Larisa Vasilyevna
Doctor of Technical Science, Professor, Head of Department of Environmental Protection, Perm National Research Polytechnic University, Perm, Russia (614990, Perm, Komsomolsky avenue, 29); ORCID 0000-0003-3292-8359; e-mail: larisa.rudakova.007@gmail.com.
For citation
Kiselev A.V., Magaril E.R., Glushankova I.S., Rudakova L.V. Analysis of Sewage Sludge Alternatives Towards Circular Economy. Journal of Applied Economic Research, 2020, Vol. 19, No. 3, 329--347. DOI: 10.15826/vestnik.2020.19.3.016.
Article info
Received May 19, 2020; Revised July 15, 2020; Accepted July 24, 2020.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2020.19.3.016
Download full text article:
~1 MB, *.pdf
(Uploaded
05.10.2020)
Created / Updated: 2 September 2015 / 20 September 2021
© Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin»
Remarks?
select the text and press:
Ctrl + Enter
Portal design: Artsofte
Contact us
Rector's Office
Rector, Dr. Victor Koksharov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-45-03, e-mail: rector@urfu.ru
Vice-Rector for International Relations, Dr. Maxim Khomyakov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-46-27, e-mail: Maksim.Khomyakov@urfu.ru