Sewage sludge: a review of business models for resource recovery and reuse

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cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Water Management Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationIHE Delft Institute for Water Educationen
cg.contributor.crpWater, Land and Ecosystems
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.initiativeResilient Cities
cg.coverage.countryAustralia
cg.coverage.countryBelgium
cg.coverage.countryChile
cg.coverage.countryChina
cg.coverage.countryDenmark
cg.coverage.countryGermany
cg.coverage.countryIndia
cg.coverage.countryItaly
cg.coverage.countryJapan
cg.coverage.countryNetherlands
cg.coverage.countryOman
cg.coverage.countrySpain
cg.coverage.countrySri Lanka
cg.coverage.countrySwitzerland
cg.coverage.countryTunisia
cg.coverage.countryUnited Kingdom
cg.coverage.countryUnited States
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2AU
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2BE
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2CL
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2CN
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2DK
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2DE
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2IN
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2IT
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2JP
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2NL
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2OM
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ES
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2LK
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2CH
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2TN
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2GB
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2US
cg.coverage.regionEurope
cg.coverage.regionAustralia and New Zealand
cg.coverage.regionWestern Europe
cg.coverage.regionSouth America
cg.coverage.regionEastern Asia
cg.coverage.regionNorthern Europe
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Asia
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Europe
cg.coverage.regionWestern Asia
cg.coverage.regionNorthern Africa
cg.coverage.regionNorthern America
cg.creator.identifierAvinandan Taron: 0000-0001-6512-482Xen
cg.creator.identifierDrechsel, Pay: 0000-0002-2592-8812en
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.5337/2023.211en
cg.identifier.iwmilibraryH052417en
cg.isbn978-92-9090-951-4en
cg.issn2478-0510en
cg.issn2478-0529en
cg.placeColombo, Sri Lankaen
dc.contributor.authorTaron, Avinandanen
dc.contributor.authorSingh, S.en
dc.contributor.authorDrechsel, Payen
dc.contributor.authorRavishankar, C.en
dc.contributor.authorUlrich, Andreasen
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-17T22:31:36Zen
dc.date.available2023-12-17T22:31:36Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/135464
dc.titleSewage sludge: a review of business models for resource recovery and reuseen
dcterms.abstractIn many low- and middle-income countries, sewage sludge generated from wastewater treatment systems has potential environmental and health hazards. To tackle this challenge, there is a need for innovative options given the increasing concerns and policies restricting sewage sludge dumping in landfills and elsewhere, and a growing awareness about the resource value of sludge within a circular economy. In developed countries, water utilities, municipalities and the private sector are increasingly engaged in utilizing and innovating modern resource recovery technologies to capture biosolids, nutrients or energy from sewage sludge and reducing disposal. This study reviews existing approaches and business models for resource recovery and moves the discussion beyond technical feasibility. Case studies were analyzed in support of four main sets of business models depending on the targeted resource: (i) organic fertilizers, (ii) crop nutrients, (iii) energy, and (iv) organic fertilizers and nutrients along with energy. The extraction of organic fertilizers through dewatering, thickening, stabilization or long-term storage drives the first set of models followed by technological advances in phosphorus recovery. The business models on energy similarly start from conventional energy recovery processes (anaerobic digestion) and move toward incineration. The discussion covers recent advances in gasification and pyrolysis. Transforming sewage sludge into biochar, for example, can support soil fertility and carbon sequestration. The final set covers integrative approaches supporting soil fertility and energy needs. The critical step for emerging economies is to develop a wastewater management strategy and link it to a circular economy framework without having a negative impact on environmental and human health. While technologies and business models generally have a favorable policy environment, there is a lack of a regulatory framework that allows the marketing, use and export of recovered (waste-derived) resources for certain applications. For example, there needs to be an increase in industry acceptance of phosphorus recovered from sewage sludge to penetrate agricultural markets despite the currently still cheaper phosphate rock, which is a finite resource.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2023en
dcterms.bibliographicCitationTaron, Avinandan; Singh, S.; Drechsel, Pay; Ravishankar, C.; Ulrich, Andreas. 2023. Sewage sludge: a review of business models for resource recovery and reuse. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 98p. (Resource Recovery and Reuse Series 23) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2023.211]en
dcterms.extent98p.en
dcterms.isPartOfResource Recovery and Reuse Series 23en
dcterms.issued2023-12-15en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherInternational Water Management Instituteen
dcterms.subjectresource recoveryen
dcterms.subjectresource managementen
dcterms.subjectreuseen
dcterms.subjectsewage sludgeen
dcterms.subjectbusiness modelsen
dcterms.subjectcircular economyen
dcterms.subjectnutrientsen
dcterms.subjectenergy recoveryen
dcterms.subjectorganic fertilizersen
dcterms.subjectbiosolidsen
dcterms.subjectphosphorusen
dcterms.subjectwastewater treatment plantsen
dcterms.subjectwaste managementen
dcterms.subjectlandfillsen
dcterms.subjectsewage treatmenten
dcterms.subjecttechnologyen
dcterms.subjectsludge dewateringen
dcterms.subjectanaerobic digestionen
dcterms.subjectincinerationen
dcterms.subjectgasificationen
dcterms.subjectpyrolysisen
dcterms.subjectbiocharen
dcterms.subjectsolid wastesen
dcterms.subjectsludge disposalen
dcterms.subjectcompostingen
dcterms.subjectpelletsen
dcterms.subjectbiogasen
dcterms.subjectelectricity generationen
dcterms.subjectpublic-private partnershipsen
dcterms.subjectmunicipal authoritiesen
dcterms.subjectpoliciesen
dcterms.subjectregulationsen
dcterms.subjectframeworksen
dcterms.subjectmarket demanden
dcterms.subjectcostsen
dcterms.subjectprofitabilityen
dcterms.subjectvalue chainsen
dcterms.subjectpublic healthen
dcterms.subjectenvironmental healthen
dcterms.subjectsoil compositionen
dcterms.subjectcase studiesen
dcterms.typeReport

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