Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Water Environment Federation

This page cannot be printed from here

Please use the dedicated print option from the 'view' drop down menu located in the blue ribbon in the top, right section of the publication.

screenshot of print menu option

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

This document examines the prospects that exist and are emerging for the organics, energy, and nutrients in biosolids. Lessons learned and documented experiences have also been captured in this publication as part of an effort to provide practical guidance for utilities embarking on the road to resource recovery. Recognizing the economic and environmental value of biogas as a source of renewable energy, this report additionally provides an update on findings from WEF’s national biogas data collection efforts.

Author(s)

Water Environment Federation

Contributing authorsScott CarrDan E.CollinsSarah DeslauriersPatrick DubeLauren FillmoreLisa McFaddenLynne H MossPatrick SerfassLori StoneJason Turgeon

SourceWater Environment Federation

Project IDWSEC-2017-WP-001

CommitteeRBC

Document typeTechnical Report

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Jul, 2017

Volume / Issue1 / 1

Content sourceWater Environment Federation

First / last page(s)1 - 129

Word count40,985

Subject keywordsBiosolidsUtility Management

Associated keywords:Resource RecoveryResearch & Innovation

Purchase price $16.50

Get access

Acknowledgments

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

The Project Team would like to thank WEF and WE&RF for their support of this project. We also extend our thanks to the authors, as well as the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) Advisory Committee for their valuable guidance and assistance in the development and review of this document.

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count356

Read

List of Acronyms

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count149

Read

Table of Contents

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Accelerating Resource Recovery:

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count450

Read

List of Tables and Figures

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Table 1: Select Phosphorus Source Coefficients Used in P Indices

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count731

Read

Section 1 Introduction

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Unprecedented opportunities exist for biosolids as recognition of the importance of resource recovery reflects widespread interest in sustainability, energy, climate change, resource depletion, materials cycling, and zero waste goals. The journey toward meaningful change continues to be explored in this report, which is an update to the 2013 publication, entitled Enabling the Future:...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count1,103

Read

Section 2 Building a Framework for Resource Recovery: Regulations and Policy

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Sound regulatory framework and supporting policies are essential to leverage resource recovery potential. The impact of a strong regulatory foundation, especially, cannot be underestimated, as evidenced by the impact of 40 CFR 503 regulation (and its underpinning policies) on biosolids beneficial use in the United States. While a variety of factors contributed to the shift away from disposal, the...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count8,235

Read

Section 3 Organics Recycling: A New Perspective

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

The recycling of organics through application to the land has been practiced for millennia, with farmers long recognizing the benefits of the organic matter and nutrients in manures, night soil - and more recently, biosolids - to soil and crop systems. While these benefits are still a focal point, our perspective has expanded to include benefits associated with carbon footprint and climate change,...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count3,459

Read

Section 4 Energy Recovery

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Because the energy contained in wastewater and biosolids exceeds the energy needed for treatment by a factor of five, energy neutrality is not just a pipe dream. It is a challenging yet reachable goal when WRRFs are designed and operated for this objective through a combination of energy efficiency best practices and energy production technologies. As stated in WEF’s position statement,...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count11,764

Read

Section 5 Changing Perspectives: From Nutrient Removal to Nutrient Recovery

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are life essential nutrients that are extensively used for agricultural purposes. At present, the synthetic N and P fertilizers that are used for food production are produced through energy-intensive processes that use non-renewable resources (e.g., natural gas and phosphate rock).

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count4,715

Read

Section 6 Other Resource Recovery Opportunities: Expanding Horizons

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

The biosolids industry is not alone in some of the challenges it faces - industries across a wide spectrum are grappling with economic constraints and the need for sustainable solutions. This need, coupled with technology transfers into the wastewater solids arena from other areas has spurred the emergence of new approaches that use biosolids as a feedstock to create a variety of non-traditional...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count1,918

Read

Section 7 Enabling the Future: Investing in People, Quality, and Communications

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

The National Biosolids Partnership effort in “Charting the Future of Biosolids Management” (NBP, 2011), “Enabling the Future: Advancing Resource Recovery from Biosolids” (WEF, 2013), and this report have defined and documented important turning points in biosolids management in North America.

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count3,069

Read

Section 8 The Pulse of the Industry: Biosolids and Related Data

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

This report focuses on the new paradigm of resource recovery from biosolids (and, by inference, other residuals). In order to understand the full potential for resource recovery, data are needed. To date, the biosolids profession has had minimal data available. For example, even basic data on the generation of wastewater solids in the U.S. is inadequate for helping biosolids managers and policy...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count3,059

Read

Section 9 Conclusion

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Biosolids resource recovery affords an excellent opportunity to promote many of the topics at the forefront of the water industry. Providing solutions to sustainability and environmental issues offers an opportunity to promote innovation and improve the economic potential for utilities. Biosolids resource recovery can impact climate change, address nutrient issues in soils, generate energy, and...

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count628

Read

Appendix A - WE&RF Research 2014-Present

Accelerating Resource Recovery: Biosolids Innovations and Opportunities

Publication Year

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Word count1,326

Read

Loading items