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Publications (99)
Nutrient recovery from digested biodegradable waste as marketable products has become an important task for anaerobic digestion plants to meet both regulatory drivers and market demands, while producing an internal revenue source. As such, the present waste problem could be turned into an economic opportunity. The aim of this study was to provide a...
Recovering nutrients from wastewater as sustainable bio-based products provides a key solution to major environmental problems. Classical technology development approaches for resource recovery largely ignore the real-world variability in raw waste materials, which currently hinders the successful implementation of recovery strategies. A major chal...
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-021-00104-7
Waste management strategies such as anaerobic digestion and composting produce bio-based fertilizer products that could be applied to agricultural soil. Although multiple modelling software tools are available to simulate the environmental effect of fertilizer application to the soil, these models do not allow specification of emerging bio-based fe...
Ship-generated nutrient-rich waste sources, including food waste and sewage water, contribute to eutrophication and deoxygenation of marine ecosystems. This chapter aims to discuss the characteristics of these waste and wastewater sources, review current ship-generated organic waste and wastewater regulations, inventory conventional management and...
This study presents an innovative technical integration for concomitant nutrient recovery from source-separated urine. While cation exchange is known for efficient K + recovery, it faces competition due to the high molarity of NH 4 + in hydrolyzed urine. This study proposes inhibiting urease activity to facilitate the recovery of K⁺ and urea from f...
Among several treatment technologies, the membrane bioreactor (MBR), which combines physical separation and biological treatment, appears to be an attractive option not only for wastewater treatment but also for water reuse and nutrient recovery in decentralized systems. This review aims to comprehensively assess the potential of MBR systems in dec...
Among wastewater treatment methods, wastewater treatment lagoons are popular in northern decentralized regions. There is however a shortage of studies on northern wastewater treatment efficiency. This research addresses this gap by sequentially evaluating lagoon efficiency in a northern Canadian community, aiming to determine the feasibility or the...
The growing interest in anaerobic digestion has led to an increase in the production of digestate that can be re-used. This work evaluates the possibility of using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) to valorize biogas digestate, maize residue and alfalfa. The solid fraction of two digestates originating from two different biogas plants was used. Diffe...
Relevance and Goals Wastewater utilities are undertaking a future task to transform treatment plants into water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). The aim is to produce energy (biofuels), valuable products, and nutrients such as fertilizers as well as regenerated water. Integrated approaches for "Water-Sludge-Energy" cooperation are a sustainabl...
Increasing concerns related to the negative environmental impacts of food waste havemotivated the development of new solutions to complete the waste cycle of organic residues. One particular "waste" product, the solid digestate from anaerobic digestion, has been identified for further bioprocessing. Black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae...
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste, anaerobic digestion has created new opportunities for energy and nutrient recovery from these wastes. However, the use of certain organic wastes in anaerobic digestion is limited due to their atypical physicochemical characteristics (e.g. unbalanced carbon to nitrogen ratio, high ash concentrat...
This study investigated the recovery of K⁺ along with NH4⁺-N and PO4³⁻-P from hydrolyzed urine by technical integration. The K adsorption capacities of biochar, clinoptilolite, artificial zeolite and chabazite were firstly compared. Due to the high K recovery efficiency and additional P recovery capacity, Na-chabazite was selected as the adsorbent...
As an everyday beverage, coffee is consumed worldwide, generating a high amount of waste after brewing, which needs attention for its disposal. These residues are referred to as spent coffee grounds (SCGs), which have been shown to have applications as polymers/composites precursors, biofuels, and biofertilizers. This review focuses on agricultural...
As an everyday beverage, coffee is consumed worldwide, generating a high amount of waste after brewing, which needs attention for its disposal. These residues are referred to as spent coffee grounds (SCGs), which have been shown to have applications as polymers/composites precursors, biofuels, and biofertilizers. This review focuses on agricultural...
The residues from construction, renovation and demolition activities represent one of the highest volumes of
waste in the world. Due to the absence of source separation activities on construction sites and the lower
quantities of waste that can be sent to a sorting center in comparison to the quantities produced, the manage-
ment of the constructio...
Throughout history, the first and foremost role of urban water management has been the protection human health and the local aquatic environment. To this end, the practice of (waste-)water treatment has maintained a central focus on the removal of pollutants through dissipative pathways. Approaches like-in case of wastewater treatment-the activated...
Throughout history, the first and foremost role of urban water management has been the protection of human health and the local aquatic environment. To this end, the practice of (waste-)water treatment has maintained a central focus on the removal of pollutants through dissipative pathways. Approaches like – in the case of wastewater treatment – th...
Throughout history, the first and foremost role of urban water management has been the protection of human health and the local aquatic environment. To this end, the practice of (waste-)water treatment has maintained a central focus on the removal of pollutants through dissipative pathways. Approaches like – in the case of wastewater treatment – th...
Fertilizers are at the foundation of our modern society, without which we would not be able to feed and sustain a majority of the world population. Of the major macronutrients necessary for agriculture, which include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), nitrogen is essential for healthy plant growth, being vital for the production of ami...
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered an important brick of the circular economy allowing to treat and stabilize organic residues, produce renewable energy and promote the return to soil of organic matter and mineral nutrients. Digestate has been historically seen as a biogas by-product with a fertilizing value while representing a significant cos...
Nutrient discharges into the Baltic Sea and the resulting phenomenon of eutrophication have caused environmental issues in the area for decades. Eutrophication is characterized by the proliferation of harmful algae blooms and low-oxygen (hypoxic) waters, all affecting ecosystem diversity, aquaculture activities and tourism, to name a few. The incre...
Technologies that allow for removal and subsequent recovery and reuse of phosphorus from polluted streams are imperative. One such technology is hybrid ion exchange nanotechnology (HIX-Nano), which may allow to produce a valuable nutrient solution following phosphorus desorption of the saturated media. This study evaluated the potential of four reg...
In order to avoid eutrophication of freshwater systems, regulations all around the world have become increasingly stringent toward the maximum phosphate concentration allowed in wastewater discharges. Traditional phosphate removal methods such as chemical precipitation and enhanced biological phosphorus removal struggle to lower phosphate levels to...
The field of wastewater management has seen a transition from “contaminant removal” in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to “nutrient recovery” in so-called water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) for years. For achieving a higher efficiency and economic benefits, the integration of multiple nutrient recovery technologies (NRTs) is of increase...
Composting is one of the most commonly applied methods for organic waste processing, largely due to its accessibility, simplicity, and low costs. However, despite its many advantages, composting often has significant nutrient losses, notably nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses that can surpass 90% and 30%, respectively. Beyond representing a los...
Biomethanation projects across the world struggle with multiple challenges related to the location selection and optimization of the treatment facilities. Important aspects such as treatment plant location and treatment process chain configuration depend on the waste sources to be treated, the required end-product type and quality, as well as its f...
Anaerobic digestion of nitrogen (N) rich substrates might be hindered when ammonia (NH3) formation reaches toxic levels for methanogenic microorganisms. One possible strategy to avoid inhibiting conditions is the removal of NH3 from digestate by stripping and scrubbing technology and by recirculating N depleted digestate back to the digester. This...
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is gaining increasing attention not only as a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels as an energy source, but also as one of the most cost-effective paths to achieve “negative emissions”, which aims at inducing a net emission reduction of atmospheric CO2 with the combined effect of photosynthesi...
Mathematical models have been developed over the past 40 years to describe the composting process, seeking to ease its implementation, control, and optimization. Due to the complex nature of composting, the ability to simulate the processes kinetics in a simple and generalizable manner has proven to be elusive, acting as a significant limitation to...
Fertilizers have become an essential part of our global food supply chain and are necessary to sustain our growing population. However, fertilizers can also contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, along with other potential nutrient losses in the environment, e.g. through leaching. To reduce this environmental impact, tools such as life cycle...
Management of wastes resulting from construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) activities has
become an important challenge for scientists. The recovery of gypsum residues from CRD waste is one
of the solutions to minimize the impact of CRD operations on the environment. This review discusses
the characteristics of CRD waste, different treatment...
Management of wastes resulting from construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) activities has become an important challenge for scientists. The recovery of gypsum residues from CRD waste is one of the solutions to minimize the impact of CRD operations on the environment. This review discusses the characteristics of CRD waste, different treatment...
Composting is a valuable method to treat and valorize organic residuals. However, the process is defined by its dynamic nature and governed by a multitude of operating parameters, making it complex to optimize. As such, mathematical modelling of the process offers a powerful tool to simulate and predict the variable outcomes of the process. Example...
The Quebec residual materials management policy implies the banning of organic waste disposal or incineration from 2022 onwards. This policy also applies to domestic ship-generated organic waste. However, little is known about the current state of ship-generated organic waste management in the province of Quebec. This study aims to analyse the curr...
Composting is a valuable method to treat and valorize organic waste. However, the process is defined by its dynamic nature and governed by a multitude of operating parameters. As such, mathematical modelling of the process offers a powerful tool to simulate and predict the variable outcomes of the process, allowing for its optimization. This can in...
Driven by economic, ecological, and community considerations, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are increasingly being transformed into water resource recovery facilities. This chapter provides a brief overview of the most important fertilizer quality specifications in order to compile essential model outputs with a focus on fertilizer commercial...
Over the last several decades, intensification of livestock production has led to an excess of animal manure in certain world regions. If not managed properly, manure excess can lead to detrimental effects on the environment due to ammonia and nitrate loss from animal excretion. This chapter reviews the most common bioenergy and nutrient recovery t...
Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs), or DSS applied in the environmental field, have been developed for over 40 years now. However, most of these tools fail to find use or fall out of use extremely quickly. In the aim of aiding in the conception and development of practical and successful decision support systems, i.e. systems that can l...
The combination of increased maritime transportation and the sensitivity of the Baltic Sea makes it necessary to establish efficient, eco-friendly and profitable ship-generated waste management strategies. This study aims to identify best management practices for ship-generated nutrient-rich organic wastes, i.e. food waste and sewage, on the Baltic...
Enzymatic reactions refer to organic reactions catalyzed by enzymes. This review aims to enrich the documentation relative to enzymatic reactions occurring during the anaerobic degradation of residual organic substances with emphasis on the structures of organic compounds and reaction mechanisms. This allows to understand the displacement of electr...
This study aims to evaluate the full-scale performance of vibrating membrane filtration (VSEP) technology in resource recovery from the liquid fraction of digestates, while reducing macronutrient concentrations down to dischargeable water. Although increasing attention is paid to mass flow assessment of macronutrients, to date little is known about...
An increasing amount of waste is produced year over year, without any signs of slowing down. However, by reorienting the perspective, organic residual waste can be seen as a valuable source of nutrients and carbon that should be valorized, instead of a waste product to be disposed of. This chapter covers the main methods of converting waste into va...
Development and optimization of nutrient recovery technologies for agricultural waste is on the rise. The full scale adoption of these technologies is however hindered by complex legal aspects that result from lack of science-based knowledge on characterization and fertilizer performance of recovered end-products. Ammonium sulfate (AS) and ammonium...
In order to hasten the implementation of optimal, cost-effective and sustainable treatment trains for resource recovery from biowaste, a new nutrient recovery model (NRM) library has been developed and validated at steady state. It includes physico-biochemical mathematical models for anaerobic digestion, struvite precipitation and ammonia stripping...
Decentralized anaerobic digestion (AD) of manure and organic residues is a possible strategy to improve carbon and nutrient cycling within agricultural regions, meanwhile generating renewable energy. To date, there has been limited adoption of decentralized AD technology in industrialized countries owing to low profitability for plant operators. Th...
This paper aims to develop a generic roadmap for setting up strategies for nutrient recovery from digested waste (digestate). First, a guideline-based decision-tree is presented for setting up an optimal bio-based fertilization strategy as function of local agronomic and regulatory criteria. Next, guidelines and evaluation criteria are provided to...
Handling of digestate produced by anaerobic digestion impacts the environment through emission of greenhouse gases, reactive nitrogen and phosphorus. Previous life cycle assessments (LCA) evaluating the extraction of nutrients from digestate using struvite precipitation and ammonia stripping did not relate synthetic fertilizer substitution (SFS) to...
The reported research developed a generic nutrient recovery model (NRM) library based on detailed chemical solution speciation and reaction kinetics, with focus on fertilizer quality and quantity as model outputs. Dynamic physicochemical three-phase process models for precipitation/crystallization, stripping and acidic air scrubbing as key unit pro...
In order to hasten the implementation of optimal, cost-effective, and sustainable treatment trains for resource recovery, a nutrient recovery model (NRM) library has been developed and validated at steady state. The reported research aims to use the NRM library to establish the operational settings of a sustainable and cost-effective treatment scen...
Current nutrient recovery practices for phosphorus (P) from wastewaters carryout precipitation of pollutant P to make struvite/brushite or carryout liquid/solids separation that focuses on the solids bound P. Either approach results in low-grade, slow-release, land applied fertilizer. Residual dissolved nutrients not captured are more harmful in th...
This paper aims to evaluate various pre-treatment methods to improve the release of phosphorus (P) in the liquid fraction after solid–liquid separation of digestate (input: (dairy) manure and organic biological by-products provided by the food industry). As such, the P recovery potential from the liquid fraction as concentrated fertilizer product c...
The objective of this paper is to report the effects that control/operational strategies may have on plant-wide phosphorus (P) transformations in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The development of a new set of biological (activated sludge, anaerobic digestion), physico-chemical (aqueous phase, precipitation, mass transfer) process models and mo...
Although to date some technologies producing bio-based phosphorus (P) fertilizers have been proposed and implemented, the efficient use of the recovered products is still limited due to legislative constraints and lack of insights in the P release with time and in the corresponding mechanisms. The aim of this work was to evaluate the fertilizer per...
Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries are expanded to account for negative indirect consequences of bioenergy such as indirect land use change (ILUC), ecosystem services such as water purification sometimes delivered by perennial bioenergy crops are typically neglected in LCA studies. Consequential LCA was applied to evaluate the significan...
The production of biogas from energy crops, organic waste and manure has augmented considerably the amounts of digestate available in Flanders. This has pushed authorities to steadily introduce legislative changes to promote its use as a fertilising agent. There is limited arable land in Flanders, which entails that digestate has to compete with an...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) based on the plant reaction and changes in soil P bioavailability status in time by land application of recovered bio-based fertilizers, including struvite, FePO4-sludge, digestate, and animal manure, compared to synthetic triple super phosphate (TSP). First, product characte...
The increasing awareness of natural resource depletion, the increasing demand of nutrients and energy for food production, and the more and more stringent nutrient discharge and fertilization levels, have resulted in an increased attention for nutrient recovery from municipal and agricultural wastes. This PhD dissertation aims at stimulating the tr...
Although to date some technologies producing bio-based phosphorus (P) fertilizers have been proposed and implemented, the efficient use of the recovered products is still limited due to legislative constraints, lack of insights in their P release with time, and in the corresponding mechanisms. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the fertilizer pe...
Anaerobic digestion is an established technology to convert biowaste into renewable energy and nutrient-rich digestates. Nutrient recovery from these digestates as renewable fertilizers with high-nutrient use efficiency or as P-poor alternative fertilizers has gained increased attention in order to meet both regulatory drivers and market demands, w...
Nutrient recovery from bio-waste as renewable fertilizers with high nutrient use efficiency (NUE) has
gained increased attention in order to meet both regulatory drivers (increasingly stringent fertilization and
discharge levels) and market demands, while producing an internal revenue source, hence turning the waste
problem into an economic opportu...
In the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy, it has become an important challenge to maximally recycle valuable nutrients that currently end up in waste streams. Nutrient resources are rapidly depleting. Significant amounts of fossil energy are required for the production of synthetic fertilizers, whereas costs for energy and fertilizers...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of using bio-digestion waste derivatives as substitute for synthetic fertilizers and/or as P-poor equivalent for animal manure on soil and crop production. In a field trial, nutrient balances were assessed and the physicochemical soil fertility and quality were evaluated. The biogas yield of the harv...
Because of the historic presence of intensive livestock
production and the limited amount of arable
land for manure disposal, nitrate pollution in certain
European areas is considerable. The European Nitrate
Directive, implemented in 1991, is intended to improve
water quality in Europe by preventing pollution
of ground- and surface water by leachin...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of using bio-digestion waste derivatives as substitute for synthetic fertilizers and/or as P-poor equivalent for animal manure on soil and crop production. In a field trial, nutrient balances were assessed and the physicochemical soil fertility and quality were evaluated. The biogas yield of the harv...
: In the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy, it has become an important challenge to maximally recycle valuable nutrients that currently end up in waste streams. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of using bio-digestion waste derivatives instead of synthetic fertilizers and/or animal manure on soil and crop production. In...
In nitrate vulnerable zones application of animal manure to land is limited. Digestate from anaerobic digestion plants competes with manure for nutrient disposal on arable land, which forms a serious hinder for the biogas sector to develop in these regions. Hence, one of its biggest challenges is to find cost-effective and sustainable ways for dige...
In the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy, it has become an important challenge to maximally recycle valuable nutrients that currently end up in waste streams. Nutrient resources are rapidly depleting. Significant amounts of fossil energy are used for the production of chemical fertilizers, whereas costs for energy and fertilizers are...
In the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy, it has become an important challenge to maximally recuperate and recycle
valuable nutrients coming from manure and digestate processing. Membrane filtration is a suitable technology to separate valuable
nutrients in easily transportable concentrates which could potentially be re-used as green...
Bij de discussie over afnemende fossiele grondstoffen wordt vaak alleen de connotatie met olie en aardgas gemaakt. Ook fosfaat is echter een fossiele grondstof die in pijlsnel tempo wordt opgebruikt. De uitdagingen om duurzaam een toenemende bevolking te onderhouden, vereisen naast aandacht voor energie ook aandacht voor de beschikbaarheid van de n...
Tijdens de overgang van een op fossiele grondstoffen gebaseerde economie naar een hernieuwbare economie is het een belangrijke uitdaging geworden om nutriënten uit mest- en digestaatverwerking maximaal te recupereren en recycleren. Met membraanfiltratie kunnen waardevolle nutriënten gescheiden worden in gemakkelijk transporteerbare concentraten die...
Tijdens de overgang van een op fossiele grondstoffen gebaseerde economie naar een hernieuwbare economie is het een belangrijke uitdaging geworden om nutriënten uit mest- en digestaatverwerking maximaal te recupereren en recycleren. Met membraanfiltratie kunnen in theorie waardevolle nutriënten gescheiden worden in gemakkelijk transporteerbare conce...
In de overgang van een fossiel gebaseerde naar een hernieuwbare economie is het maximaal recupereren en recycleren van waardevolle macro- en micronutriënten een belangrijke uitdaging geworden. Het fossiel energieverbruik en de kostprijs voor de aanmaak van minerale kunstmeststoffen is immers groot, terwijl de vraag nog steeds toeneemt. Daarnaast wo...
