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Life cycle assessment of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket sludge management and activated sludge systems aiming energy use in the municipality of Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Abstract

This study aimed to carry out the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) targeting to decide the better management system for sludge from both Activated Sludge Process (ASP) and from Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB). Using the SimaPro® software, three post-use scenarios were applied to this process for each type of sludge: Scenario A, which consisted of the option of disposing of UASB sludge in a sanitary landfill; Scenario B, in anaerobic digestion (AD) with the generation of biogas and electricity and use of digested sludge; and Scenario C, the use of UASB sludge as an agricultural fertilizer. Besides, we carried out the analysis of heavy metals in the sludge before and after the AD using the Scanning Electron Microscopy. The elements found with a marked presence in the treatment of UASB and ASP sludge samples, before and after AD, were, among others: Oxygen, Carbon, Aluminum, Silicon, and Iron. The energy avoided for UASB sludge is 0.0502 MJ. For activated sludge, it is 0.00173 MJ. The use of activated sludge as an agricultural fertilizer (Scenario C) presented the best performance in eight of the eleven categories due to the presence of products avoided in the process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq; the acronym in English), for the productivity in research Grant given to Prof. Regina Mambeli Barros (PQ2, Process Number: 303805/2018-8), and to Prof. Electo Eduardo Silva Lora. We would also like to thank the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Capes; the acronym in English) for granting the Master of Science scholarship (Finance Code 1) to Susan J. B. Cañotes, Hellen Luisa de Castro e Silva, and the doctorate scholarship to Ivan Felipe da Silva dos Santos. We would like to thank the Minas Gerais State Agency for Research and Development (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, FAPEMIG, in Portuguese) for granting financial support (Project PROCESS N.: TEC—APQ-03080-18 “Study of the potential of Greenhouse Gases mitigation prognostic in the state of Minas Gerais by the electric energy generation by biogas from anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of urban solid waste and wastewater treatment plant sludge”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Master of Science in Energy Engineering, Federal University of Itajubá, (Energy Engineering At Federal University of Itajubá), Excellence Group in Thermal Power and Distributed Generation-NEST, Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá, MG, 37500-903,, Brazil

    Susan Johana Benites Cañote & Ivan Felipe Silva dos Santos

  2. Natural Resources Institute, Federal University of Itajubá, (Instituto de Recursos Naturais da Universidade Federal de Itajubá), Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá, MG, 37500-903, Brazil

    Regina Mambeli Barros & Ana Paula Moni Silva

  3. Excellence Group in Thermal Power and Distributed Generation (NEST), Institute of Mechanical Engineering-IEM, Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá, MG, 37500-903, Brazil

    Electo Eduardo Silva Lora & Jean Agustin Velásquez Piñas

  4. Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering at UNIFEI, Federal University of Itajubá (Doutorado em Engenharia Mecânica da Universidade Federal de Itajubá), Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá, MG, 37500-903, Brazil

    Ivan Felipe Silva dos Santos

  5. Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET), and Advanced Paleontology of Complutense University of Madrid, (Paleontologia Avançada da Universidade Complutense de Madrid), Madrid, Spain

    Alexandra Lucitania Benites Cañote

  6. Natural Resources Institute, Federal University of Itajubá, (Mestrado Em Meio Ambiente E Recursos Hídricos, Instituto de Recursos Naturais da Universidade Federal de Itajubá), Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá, MG, 37500-903, Brazil

    Hellen Luisa de Castro e Silva

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  1. Susan Johana Benites Cañote
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Correspondence to Regina Mambeli Barros.

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Cañote, S.J.B., Barros, R.M., Lora, E.E.S. et al. Life cycle assessment of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket sludge management and activated sludge systems aiming energy use in the municipality of Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 23, 1810–1830 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-021-01253-0

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