Andrea Salimbeni

University of Florence

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David Chiaramonti

Polytechnic University of Turin

Andrea Maria Rizzo

University of Florence

Marta Di Bianca

University of Florence

S. Capaccioli

ETA-Florence Renewable Energies

G. Grassi

European Biomass Industry Association

Giacomo Lombardi

University of Florence

S.J.E. Verzandvoort

Wageningen University & Research

Michel Aragno

University of Neuchâtel

Chris Malins

Dublin City University

Viktória Vásáry

Agrárközgazdasági Intézet

Cooperative Institutions

University of Florence

Imperial College London

University of Science and Technology Beijing

Wageningen University & Research

Ferrari (Italy)

University of Turin

Monash University

University of Manchester

Agrárközgazdasági Intézet

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

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Application of Algae Technology in Biogas Digestate Treatment and the Opportunity of Algal Biofertilizers in European Farms

European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Proceedings (2012)

G. Grassi Andrea Salimbeni

Digestate

Biogas

Biofertilizer

Blue green algae

10.5071/20theubce2012-5av.3.15

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Application of an integrated pyrolysis and chemical leaching process for pulper waste conversion into coal, hydrogen and chemical flocculating agent

Waste Management (2023)

Andrea Salimbeni Marta Di Bianca Andrea Maria Rizzo David Chiaramonti

10.1016/j.wasman.2023.12.038

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Citations (1)

Activated Carbon and P-Rich Fertilizer Production from Industrial Sludge by Application of an Integrated Thermo-Chemical Treatment

Sustainability (2023)

Andrea Salimbeni Marta Di Bianca Andrea Maria Rizzo David Chiaramonti

The cost and environmental impact of sludge disposal methods highlight the necessity of new solutions for resource recovery. This study aims at concurrently producing activated carbon while recovering phosphorous by applying an integrated thermo-chemical treatment to a sludge of industrial origin. The sludge was first subjected to slow pyrolysis on a laboratory scale at different temperatures, and the produced chars were processed by leaching to obtain biocoal. Leaching tests enabled us to define the optimal slow pyrolysis temperatures to maximize leaching performances. Then, sludge was processed in a slow pyrolysis pilot-scale plant, and the produced char was subjected to acid leaching and finally to physical activation. Chemical precipitation was then applied to the liquid leachate to recover phosphorous as a salt. Laboratory-scale slow pyrolysis and leaching tests showed that a higher pyrolysis temperature leads to a lower degree of demineralization by leaching. Leaching enabled us to reduce the char ash content by almost 88%, extracting 100% P, Mg, Ca, and Fe and almost 90% Al. Physical activation of biocoal with CO2 at 700 and 800 °C produced materials with a surface area of 353 and 417 m2 g−1, respectively, that make them potentially applicable as adsorbents in wastewater treatment or in industrial emissions processes. Moreover, the activated carbons showed the atomic H/C and O/C ratios of anthracite, which opens a wide range of alternative market applications to fossil coal, such as metallurgy and the advanced material sector. In addition, the high P and K concentrations in the salt obtained by precipitation make it a promising fertilizing product in line with the current regulations.

10.3390/su151914620

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Opportunities of Integrating Slow Pyrolysis and Chemical Leaching for Extraction of Critical Raw Materials from Sewage Sludge

Water (2023)

Andrea Salimbeni Marta Di Bianca Giacomo Lombardi Andrea Maria Rizzo David Chiaramonti

Slow pyrolysis is a promising technology to convert sewage sludge into char: a stable solid product with high carbon and phosphorus content. However, due to its heavy metals content, char use in agriculture is avoided in many European Union (EU) countries. This study aimed to test a solution, based on integrating slow pyrolysis and chemical leaching, to separate phosphorus and other inorganics from char, obtaining an inorganic P-rich fertiliser and a C-rich solid usable for industrial purposes. The sludge was first characterized and then processed in a 3 kg/h slow pyrolysis reactor at 450 °C for 30 min. The resulting char was processed by chemical leaching with acid (HCl, HNO3) and alkali (KOH) reagents to extract inorganic compounds. To optimize the inorganic extraction, three case studies have been considered. The char obtained from sewage sludge pyrolysis contained around 78% d.b. (dry basis) of inorganics, 14% d.b. of C, 14% d.b. of Al, and almost 5% d.b. of P. The leaching tests enabled to extract 100% of P, Mg, and Ca from the char. The remaining char contained mainly carbon (27%) and silica (42%), with a surface area of up to 70 m2/g, usable as adsorbent or precursor of sustainable materials.

Sewage sludge

10.3390/w15061060

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Organic waste streams upgrading for gasification process optimization

Elsevier eBooks (2019)

Andrea Salimbeni

Refuse-derived fuel

Food Waste

10.1016/b978-0-12-815554-7.00006-4

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Evaluation of Utilising Ingelia Hydrochar Produced from Organic Residues for Blast Furnaces Injection - Comparison with Anthracite and Bituminous Coal

Marisa Hernandez Andrea Salimbeni Martin Hitzl Jianliang Zhang Guangwei Wang

Large amounts of wood charcoal have been used in the past as feedstock for many industry sector, (energy, metallurgy, C extraction) but it has been replaced year by year by fossil coal, coke and sy ...

Anthracite

Charcoal

Bituminous coal

Extractive metallurgy

10.5071/26theubce2018-ico.8.5

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Integrating hydrothermal carbonization and chemical leaching to recover biogenic carbon from sewage sludge

Journal of Environmental Management (2024)

Andrea Salimbeni Hary Demey

Hydrothermal Carbonization

Sewage sludge

Carbon fibers

10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123516

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Techno-Economic feasibility of integrating biomass slow pyrolysis in an EAF steelmaking site: A case study

Applied Energy (2023)

Andrea Salimbeni Giacomo Lombardi Andrea Maria Rizzo David Chiaramonti

Replacing fossil coal with sustainable alternatives is urgently needed to decarbonize the hard-to-abate steel industry and shift the whole sector towards sustainable transition. The technical feasibility of substituting coal with wood charcoal has already been investigated and demonstrated: however, the economic feasibility of using biobased coal is still far from acceptable commercial conditions. As a possible solution to overcome the problem, as well as to improve the overall sustainability of steel production, the present work investigates the techno-economic feasibility of integrating slow pyrolysis plant into the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process. Here, the waste heat from the furnace is used to produce biocoal via slow pyrolysis, while pyrogases are sent to bioenergy generation. The study combined experimental, modelling, and analytical approaches: (1) experimental: biocoal from lignocellulosic biomass (Arundo Donax) in a continuous slow pyrolysis pilot unit has been produced; (2) modelling: a modelling tool to process the experimental data, size the upscaled pyrolysis kiln and assess the energy integration of the EAF and the slow pyrolysis plant has been developed; (3) analysis: an economic feasibility study has been carried out, based on the obtained results. The research work demonstrates that, for the identified conditions, the thermal energy available in EAF waste gases, equal to 4,15 MWt, are sufficient to heat a slow pyrolysis kiln of 1.42 t/h feed capacity, and that the quality of the biocoal obtained from slow pyrolysis of Arundo Donax is of sufficient to fully replace fossil coal. Finally, the economic analysis shows how the energy and coal savings, as well the 10.5 kt of CO2 emissions reduction obtained through the integrated configuration, make the solution economically attractive, with an estimated payback time of 5.4 years.

Torrefaction

Arundo donax

10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120991

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Citations (17)

Environmental Sustainability of Sweet-Sorghum Hybrids Biorefinery Complex

European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Proceedings (2012)

G. Grassi Andrea Salimbeni

Sweet sorghum

10.5071/20theubce2012-5bo.12.3

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

E3S Web of Conferences (2021)

Andrea Salimbeni Andrea Maria Rizzo David Chiaramonti

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 P 2 O 5 , and about 25-30% of SiO 2 . 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 HNO 3 , 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.

Sewage sludge

Heat of combustion

10.1051/e3sconf/202123801008

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Citations (2)