Descrizione del progetto
Tecnologia avanzata per la produzione di «bio-greggio»
Esistono vari modi per trattare le acque reflue, per rilevare e riciclare materiali preziosi invece di smaltirli. Tuttavia, le tecnologie esistenti per il trattamento e la gestione delle acque reflue non affrontano sfide ambientali significative come la circolarità delle sostanze nutritive e i cambiamenti climatici. Il progetto REBOOT, finanziato dall’UE, propone una tecnologia avanzata che recupera materiali preziosi dalle acque reflue, li tratta e genera combustibili a zero emissioni di carbonio. La tecnologia di liquefazione idrotermale impiega temperatura e pressione elevate per produrre bio-greggio, che è un prodotto con proprietà analoghe a quelle del petrolio. Il bio-greggio può essere utilizzato in una varietà di applicazioni avanzate, quali il bio-bitume o il carburante rinnovabile per aerei. La tecnologia sarà testata su reattori pilota a flusso continuo volti a offrire un nuovo concetto di gestione dei rifiuti.
Obiettivo
The REBOOT project will create a disruptive wet waste valorisation technology where valuable resources are re-used rather than disposed of while tackling two urgent environmental challenges: nutrient circularity and climate change. Wastewater treatment sludge and manure treatment technologies are currently not satisfactory and there is no solution to efficiently re-use the resources it contains: phosphorous and carbon.
The aim of REBOOT is to completely recover phosphorous from wastes while generating carbon neutral transportation fuels and a carbon sink in the form of carbon materials. The project will employ a frontier technology called hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) which uses high temperature and pressure to produce a liquid product similar to petroleum termed bio-crude. This will be used for a range of innovative applications such as renewable aviation fuel, functionalized carbon materials and bio-bitumen.
The possibility of complete phosphorous recovery in HTL is a completely new concept, previously thought impossible as only continuous HTL reactors can theoretically achieve this. The complex hydrothermal chemistry of salts can only be exploited on such advanced reactors that are currently beyond state-of-the-art. The specific objectives of REBOOT are: (1) mechanistic understanding of salt behaviour in multi-phase hydrothermal systems with the aim of full recovery. (2) Develop tailored strategies for in-situ jet fuel synthesis. (3) Establish microbial electrolysis cells for in-situ hydrogen production and nutrient recovery.
REBOOT will be carried out on pilot continuous reactors, where the challenging physical conditions can be explored, exploited and new engineering solutions developed. If REBOOT is successful it will enable society to tackle existing waste problems while recovering nutrients and producing renewable materials, replacing fossil derived ones; representing a revolutionary solution to wet waste management in the emerging circular bio-economy.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationbioreactors
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energypetroleum
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhydrogen energy
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-STG - Starting GrantIstituzione ospitante
8000 Aarhus C
Danimarca