Design of a High-Rate Wastewater Treatment Process for Energy and Water Recovery at Biorefineries

Li, Yalin; Kontos, George A.; Cabrera, Daniela V.; Avila, Nickolas M.; Parkinson, Thomas W.; Viswanathan, Mothi Bharath; Altpeter, Fredy; Labatut, Rodrigo A.; Guest, Jeremy S.

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c07139

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…14 However, instead of neglecting the cost of managing the vinasse or using a conventional, resource-intensive wastewater treatment process, the new DC and ICF cane-to-biodiesel configurations implement a high-rate wastewater treatment design calibrated using sugarcane and oilcane wastewaters. 19 Both the DC and ICF configurations employ a drum drier and a screw press to mechanically recover the microbial oil, a conventional strategy for oil recovery from algae with an efficiency of 70% (Figure S1A and S1B, respectively, in the Supporting Information, SI). 20 The ICFR configuration sends the cell mass to be pretreated together with the bagasse and then recovers the oil by centrifugation (Figure S1C).…”

Section: Biorefinery Configurations and Process Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Cortés-Peña,

Woodruff,

Banerjee

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oilcane — an oil-accumulating crop engineered from sugarcane — and microbial oil have the potential to improve renewable oil production and help meet the expected demand for bio-derived oleochemicals and fuels. To assess the potential synergies of processing both plant and microbial oils, the economic and environmental implications of integrating microbial oil production at oilcane and sugarcane biorefineries were characterized. Due to decreased crop yields that lead to higher simulated feedstock prices and lower biorefinery capacities, current oilcane prototypes result in higher costs and carbon intensities than microbial oil from sugarcane. To inform oilcane feedstock development, we calculated the required biomass yields (as a function of oil content) for oilcane to achieve financial parity with sugarcane. At 10 dw % oil, oilcane can sustain up to 30% less yield than sugarcane and still be more profitable in all simulated scenarios. Assuming continued improvements in microbial oil production from cane juice, achieving this target results in a minimum biodiesel selling price of 1.34 [0.90, 1.85] USD∙L-1 (presented as median [5th, 95th] percentiles), a carbon intensity of 0.51 [0.47, 0.55] kg·CO2e·L–1, and a total biodiesel yield of 2140 [1870, 2410] L·ha–1·y–1. Compared to biofuel production from soybean, this outcome is equivalent to 3.0 to 3.9 as much biofuel per hectare of land and a 57 to 63% reduction in carbon intensity. While only 20% of simulated scenarios fell within the market price range of biodiesel (0.45 – 1.11 USD∙L-1), if the oilcane biomass yield would improve to 25.6 DMT∙ha-1∙y-1 (an equivalent yield to sugarcane) 87% of evaluated scenarios would have a minimum biodiesel selling price within or below the market price range.

show abstract

Section: Biorefinery Configurations and Process Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Cortés-Peña,

Woodruff,

Banerjee

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A prolonged lag phase in biogas production is a potential indicator of AD process inhibition (Li et al 2023a ). The slow degradation of complex substrates by unacclimated biomass could result in the lag phase.…”

Section: Anaerobic Biodegradability Of Process Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaerobic digestion of process water from hydrothermal treatment processes: a review of inhibitors and detoxification approaches

Zhou,

Taiwo,

Wang

et al. 2024

Bioresour. Bioprocess.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Integrating hydrothermal treatment processes and anaerobic digestion (AD) is promising for maximizing resource recovery from biomass and organic waste. The process water generated during hydrothermal treatment contains high concentrations of organic matter, which can be converted into biogas using AD. However, process water also contains various compounds that inhibit the AD process. Fingerprinting these inhibitors and identifying suitable mitigation strategies and detoxification methods is necessary to optimize the integration of these two technologies. By examining the existing literature, we were able to: (1) compare the methane yields and organics removal efficiency during AD of various hydrothermal treatment process water; (2) catalog the main AD inhibitors found in hydrothermal treatment process water; (3) identify recalcitrant components limiting AD performance; and (4) evaluate approaches to detoxify specific inhibitors and degrade recalcitrant components. Common inhibitors in process water are organic acids (at high concentrations), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), oxygenated organics, and N-heterocyclic compounds. Feedstock composition is the primary determinant of organic acid and TAN formation (carbohydrates-rich and protein-rich feedstocks, respectively). In contrast, processing conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, reaction duration) influence the formation extent of oxygenated organics and N-heterocyclic compounds. Struvite precipitation and zeolite adsorption are the most widely used approaches to eliminate TAN inhibition. In contrast, powdered and granular activated carbon and ozonation are the preferred methods to remove toxic substances before AD treatment. Currently, ozonation is the most effective approach to reduce the toxicity and recalcitrance of N and O-heterocyclic compounds during AD. Microaeration methods, which disrupt the AD microbiome less than ozone, might be more practical for nitrifying TAN and degrading recalcitrant compounds, but further research in this area is necessary. Graphical Abstract

show abstract

“…14 However, instead of neglecting the cost of managing the vinasse or using a conventional, resource-intensive wastewater treatment process, the new DC and ICF cane-to-biodiesel configurations implement a high-rate wastewater treatment design calibrated using sugarcane and oilcane wastewaters. 19 Both the DC and ICF configurations employ a drum drier and a screw press to mechanically recover the oil, a conventional strategy for oil recovery from algae (Figure S1A and S1B, respectively, in the Supporting Information, SI). 20 The ICFR configuration sends the cell mass to be pretreated together with the bagasse and then recovers the oil by centrifugation (Figure S1C).…”

Section: Biorefinery Configurations and Process Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Cortés-Peña,

Woodruff,

Banerjee

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oilcane — an oil-accumulating crop engineered from sugarcane — and microbial oil have the potential to improve renewable oil production and help meet the expected demand for bio-derived oleochemicals and fuels. To assess the potential synergies of processing both plant and microbial oils, the economic and environmental implications of integrating microbial oil production at oilcane and traditional sugarcane biorefineries were characterized. Due to decreased crop yields that lead to higher simulated feedstock prices and lower biorefinery capacities, current oilcane prototypes result in higher costs and carbon intensities than microbial oil from sugarcane. To inform oilcane feedstock development, the required biomass yields (as a function of oil content) for oilcane to achieve financial parity with sugarcane were calculated. At 10 dwt % oil, oilcane can sustain up to 29% less yield than sugarcane and still be more profitable in 95% of simulated scenarios. With microbial oil production from cane juice, achieving this target results in a minimum biodiesel selling price of 2.14 [1.58, 2.76] USD∙L-1 (presented as median [5th, 95th] percentiles), a carbon intensity of 0.519 [0.475, 0.565] kg·CO2e·L–1, and a total biodiesel yield of 2060 [1770, 2350] L·ha–1·y–1.

show abstract

Design of a High-Rate Wastewater Treatment Process for Energy and Water Recovery at Biorefineries

Cited by 12 publications

References 51 publications

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Anaerobic digestion of process water from hydrothermal treatment processes: a review of inhibitors and detoxification approaches

Integration of Plant and Microbial Oil Processing at Oilcane Biorefineries for More Sustainable Biofuel Production

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About