Primary Sludges Drive the Scalability and Power Production of Hydrothermal Liquefaction for Energy Resource Recovery at Wastewater Treatment Facilities.

ABSTRACT: This research assesses the impact of wastewater sludges from different treatment stages and facility scales on the biocrude power potential from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). HTL offers a promising method for energy resource recovery through biocrude production, yet its viability for smaller facilities [<1 million gallons per day (MGD)] remains uncertain. Sludges from facilities of varying scales (0.8, 13, and 76 MGD) were analyzed. We found that the treatment stage influences the energy content and chemical composition more than the facility scale. HTL experiments showed that primary sludges (PS) yield more biocrude than waste-activated sludges (WAS); however, the carbon fractionation remained similar across facility scales. The power generated by PS converted to biocrude was 1.05-1.55

SUBMITTER: Abadam C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11874014 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature