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Influence of anaerobic digestion on the carbon footprint of various sewage sludge treatment options
Author(s) -
Barber William P. F.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2008.00133.x
Subject(s) - anaerobic digestion , carbon footprint , sewage sludge , incineration , environmental science , waste management , sewage treatment , sewage sludge treatment , digestion (alchemy) , carbon fibers , greenhouse gas , environmental engineering , pulp and paper industry , chemistry , engineering , methane , materials science , ecology , organic chemistry , chromatography , composite number , composite material , biology
This paper describes the results of a model set up to determine carbon footprints for sludge treatment solutions with and without standard or advanced anaerobic digestion. Complete and ‘gate’ (up to the point the sludge leaves the sewage works gate) footprints were calculated. The lowest carbon footprints corresponded with advanced digestion options, which reduced downstream energy and transport (hence carbon) requirements regardless of the endpoint of the sludge. The lowest complete carbon footprint solution coincided with advanced digestion, followed by drying with energy recovery. However, this option had the highest gate carbon footprint. In terms of gate carbon footprint, land application of an advanced digested sludge cake had the smallest footprint, followed by land application of dried pellets and finally incineration.