A Circular Biorefinery-Integrating Wastewater Treatment with the Generation of an Energy Precursor and an Organic Fertilizer

A circular (close-loop) biorefinery, which integrates wastewater treatment with the generation of an energy precursor and organic fertilizer, tested at level a pilot plant treating 54,000 L per day (LPD) sewage, is described. In biorefinery’s first stage, sewage was treated in novel SHEFROL® (sheet-flow-root-level) bioreactor very rapid rate, indicated by hydraulic retention time mere 6 h, to that met prevailing national standards for discharge sewage. The main bioagent reactor—water hyacinth—was then processed precursors. For this, volatile fatty acids (VFA) were extracted simple batch reactor operating ambient temperature pressure. ‘spent’ weeds converted into also pressure, high-rate vermicomposting process earlier reported authors. this manner, treatment, production, fertilizer achieved rapidly efficiently, creating close-loop system required little materials generated almost zero net waste.