Presentation at the 3rd European Nutrient Event (ENE3) at Ecomondo 2018, 8 - 9 November, Rimini, Italy - Towards circular economy of phosphorus and other nutrients Co-organised by the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) and Horizon 2020 project SMART-Plant. More information www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3 www.phosphorusplatform.eu

1. The role of nutrients in the
bioenergy production
Nicolás Morales – Aqualia
3rd EUROPEAN NUTRIENT EVENT @ ECOMONDO 2018
8 - 9 November 2018, Rimini, Italy
www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3

2. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3

3. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
(2017)

4. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
Aqualia treats 700 000 000 m3/year of urban WW
Electric consumption associated:
0.5 kWhel /m3 = 350 MkWh = 35 M €
500 000 000 people in Europe x
0.5 kWhel/m3 x 0.15 m3/PE·d = 37 500 MWh/d
37500 MWh/24 h = 1560 MW
Potential energy content of urban WW is
≈ 500 mg COD/L x 4 kWh/kg COD
≈ 2 kWhth /m3
(≈ 0.7 kWhel /m3)
Wastewater is
Bioenergy!

5. Promote Anaerobic route
fleet vehicle quality
ABAD Bioenergy®
Biogas upgrading
Figure 2. Integration of the AbAd process in a conventional WWTP
Water line
Sludge line
Biogas line
PRIMARY SETTLER SECONDARY
SETTLER
SCREEN
GRIT
REMOVAL
AEROBIC
REACTOR
WASTEWATER EFFLUENT
PRIMARY
SLUDGE
SECONDARY
SLUDGE
ANAEROBIC
DIGESTER
DEWATERING DIGESTATE
BIOGAS
BIOMETHANE
>95% CH4
>85% CH4
<150 ppm H2S
BIOFUEL
NATURAL
GAS GRID
CHP
Biogas Biomethane
CH4 [%-vol] 65.9 ±2.3 > 89.6
CO2 [%-vol] 33.8 ±1.4 < 5
N2 [%-vol] 2.4 ±1.5 < 6
O2 [%-vol] 0.5 ±0.5 0.02
H2S + COS [mg S/Nm3] 915 ±449 < 5
Siloxanes [mg Si/Nm3] 5 0.3
Water content (ppm) - < 10
C

6. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
N fixation
Haber-Bosch Process
10 kWh/kg N
Wastewater as nutrient source!
N P
C
NP

7. ELAN® Process (ELiminación Autótrofa de Nitrógeno,
Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal)PN/Anammox in one stage with granular biomass
European Patent:
EP 2 740 713 A1
Processes
O2
consumption
(kg O2 / kg N)
COD
consumption
(kg COD /kg N)
CO2
emission
(kg CO2/kg N)
Yield
(kg VSS/kg N1)
Nitrification-
Denitrification
3.18 4.9 3.52 2.11
ELAN® 1.83 0 3.26 0.12
Advanced WWTP
AD centrate:
• NH4
+ 1000 mg N/L
• P: 80 mg P/L
• Alk ≈ 70 mmol/L
• pH ≈ 7.8
Final effluent:
• NH4
+ 50 mg N/L
• P 10 mg P/L
• pH ≈ 8.5
ELAN® effluent:
• NH4
+ 80 mg N/L
• P 80 mg P/L
• Alk ≈ 6 mmol/L
• pH ≈ 6.9
N
N P
N P
C
N P N P
Co-
digestion
ELAN Struvite

8. Advanced WWTP: ELAN process in the mainstream
CaseASludge
disintegrationunit
CaseBAnammox
inthesludgeline
CaseC
A+B
CaseDC+Anammox
inthewaterline
CaseEAnaerobicMBR
andAnammox
Parameter
Aeration
requirements (%)
+13 -26 -25 -50 -86
Biogas production
(%)
+15 +18 +51 +67 +250
Sludge generation
(%)
-24 +17 -1 +9 +4
N2O emissions (%) +3 -22 -22 -83 -83
Saving costs (%) 6 7 19 28 68

9. Life Memory:
Membrane for ENERGY and WATER RECOVERY
Potential Net Energy
production of
> 0.1 kWh/m3
Disinfected Nutrient
Rich Water
for Irrigation
Anaerobic Membrane
Bioreactor AnMBR
N P
Sewer mining

10. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
Population density in Spain (avg: 90 hab/km2) (https://www.citymetric.com)
Centralized treatments?
73% of municipalities < 2 000 inhabitants Central and Eastern Europe: 90% of settlements have less than 2 000 inhabitants
Decentralized alternatives

11. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
Recovery and
Utilization of
Nutrients
4 Low Impact FErtilizer
- Domestic wastewater:
important nutrient carrier
not currently exploited
- Decentralized nutrient
recovery from wastewater
at the source
N
C N P K
K
P
Anaerobic
digestion
UASB,
AnMBR, HTAD

12. www.smart-plant.eu/ENE3
Water Re-use
Bio-fertilizers
Biomethane
CO2
Wastewater rich in
nutrients
O2
N, P
Symbiosis: Algae - Bacteria
Images: Shutterstock
N P
N P
C
N P
C
C
N P

13. 1 hectare cultivation
N PN P

14. 1 hectare cultivation
N PN P 10 €/kg
99
39,6
20,78
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Biomasa Proteina Aminoacido
Concentracion(g/L)
REG3Market ready
Biomass Protein Amino acid
Concentration(g/L)
Bioestimulants and biopesticides;
Antioxidants, peptides, fatty acids;
Biofertilizers;
Aquaculture;

15. • Projects focus on the reduction/recovery of energy
• Decentralized treatments. Treatments at the source. Sewer mining.
• Nutrients recovery:
❑Water for reuse: Irrigation
❑Solid and liquid fertilizers from the treatment of concentrated streams
❑From the biomass/algae: bio fertilizers, bio stimulants…

16. Thank you for your attention
Nicolás Morales – Aqualia
Nicolas.morales.Pereira@fcc.es
www.run4life-project.eu
www.linkedin.com/in/run4life-project
twitter.com/RUN4LIFE_H2020
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730285