Prioritization of Early-Stage Research and Development of a Hydrogel-Encapsulated Anaerobic Technology for Distributed Treatment of High Strength Organic Wastewater

Xinyi Zhang, William A. Arnold, Natasha Wright, Paige J. Novak, Jeremy S. Guest

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study aims to support the prioritization of research and development (R&D) pathways of an anaerobic technology leveraging hydrogel-encapsulated biomass to treat high-strength organic industrial wastewaters, enabling decentralized energy recovery and treatment to reduce organic loading on centralized treatment facilities. To characterize the sustainability implications of early-stage design decisions and to delineate R&D targets, an encapsulated anaerobic process model was developed and coupled with design algorithms for integrated process simulation, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment under uncertainty. Across the design space, a single-stage configuration with passive biogas collection was found to have the greatest potential for financial viability and the lowest life cycle carbon emission. Through robust uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, we found technology performance was driven by a handful of design and technological factors despite uncertainty surrounding many others. Hydraulic retention time and encapsulant volume were identified as the most impactful design decisions for the levelized cost and carbon intensity of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. Encapsulant longevity, a technological parameter, was the dominant driver of system sustainability and thus a clear R&D priority. Ultimately, we found encapsulated anaerobic systems with optimized fluidized bed design have significant potential to provide affordable, carbon-negative, and distributed COD removal from high strength organic wastewaters if encapsulant longevity can be maintained at 5 years or above.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)19651-19665
Number of pages15
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume58
Issue number44
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 5 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

Keywords

  • anaerobic treatment
  • biogas recovery
  • biomass immobilization
  • greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
  • hydrogel encapsulation
  • quantitative sustainable design

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article

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