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Title Integrating Life-Cycle Perspectives and Spatial Dimensions of Sewage Sludge Mono-Incineration
ID_Doc 29249
Authors Wagner, D; Neugebauer, G; Kretschmer, F; Stoeglehner, G
Title Integrating Life-Cycle Perspectives and Spatial Dimensions of Sewage Sludge Mono-Incineration
Year 2020
Published Water, 12.0, 5
DOI 10.3390/w12051267
Abstract The mono-incineration of sewage sludge offers new opportunities to develop wastewater infrastructure as regional energy cells and resource recovery sites. At the moment, the most important products of this technology are electric energy and heat from combined heat and power plants, as well as ash for the recovery of phosphorus. With spatial analysis, scenarios of the decentralized and centralized spatial organization of mono-incineration are assessed with regard to the energy balances of the incineration process, transport demands, and the possibility to accommodate excess heat in the surrounding spatial fabric, and these are evaluated by applying a multi-criteria analysis. The study is based on the Austrian case and shows that the utilization, not only of phosphorus and excess energy but also of other potential resources should be aimed for. The transport of sludge and the potential to use excess heat in the surrounding spatial fabric decide if centralized or decentralized scenarios are environmentally more feasible, whereas an "economy of scale" clearly gives leeway to the centralized options. Therefore, this study clearly demonstrates that introducing mono-incineration should not only focus on the process engineering itself but should also consider spatial planning provisions to reduce transport demands and to deliver excess energy to the surrounding spatial fabric.
Author Keywords integrated spatial and energy planning; sludge to energy; phosphorous recovery; energy recovery; wastewater treatment; circular economy; secondary resources recovery
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000555915200046
WoS Category Environmental Sciences; Water Resources
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Water Resources
PDF https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/5/1267/pdf?version=1589361994
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