Integration of two-stage thermochemical treatment and chemical leaching for extraction of advanced biochar and high value critical raw materials from sewage sludge

¹ Renewable Energy COnsortium for R&D (RE-CORD) Viale J. F. Kennedy, 182, 50038 Scarperia e San Piero, Italy
² “Galileo Ferraris” Energy Department, Polytechnic of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129, Turin, Italy
³ Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Florence, Italy

^* Corresponding author: david.chiaramonti@polito.it

Abstract

The proposed study aims at assessing the reliability of a new sludge conversion technology, based on integrating thermochemical treatment, with a chemical leaching stage for producing high quality biochar and valuable liquid with high concentration of phosphorus and other critical elements. The concept is based on the fact that sludge ash usually contains about 25% of CaO, 20% of P₂O₅, and about 25-30% of SiO₂. With the removal of these elements, ash content is drastically reduced. The study is thus composed of two phases: (1) assessment of sludge thermochemical conversion routes, and (2) chemical leaching produced biochar. In the first phase, three thermochemical routes are investigated: HTC of fresh sludge at 80% moisture, slow pyrolysis of dry sludge, slow pyrolysis of HTC solid (hydrochar). In the second phase, the solid obtained by slow pyrolysis (biochar) is upgraded through leaching treatment to extract inorganic valuable elements: P, Mg, K. The first phase of the study demonstrated that processing dry sludge in slow pyrolysis at 450°C allows to obtain a low volatile carbonaceous product with characteristics similar to a thermal coal. Second phase demonstrated that, after acid leaching process using HNO₃, ash content in biochar decreased from 41.63% to 16.67%. This method also demonstrated to be a valid solution to extract more than 90% of P, K, and Mg contained in the solid, making these elements available for being recycled in agriculture and other industrial uses. At the same time, the increase of the biochar C content and calorific value makes it a valid substitute of fossil coals.