Roger Ruan
University of Minnesota, USA
Title: Intermittent vacuum assisted thermophilic AD and biorefining technologies for liquid and solid waste utilization and treatment
Biography
Biography: Roger Ruan
Abstract
Organic solid and liquid wastes, such as animal manure and food wastes, contain large amounts of energy, nutrients, and water, and should not be perceived as merely waste. Treatment and disposal have been the primary management strategy for wastewater; while recycling, composting, and combustion of non-recyclables have been practiced for decades to capture the energy and values from municipal solid wastes. As new technologies are emerging, alternative options for utilization of both wastewater and solid wastes have become available. Considering the complexity of chemical, physical, and biological properties of these wastes, multiple technologies may be required to maximize the energy and value recovery from the wastes. For this purpose, biorefining tends to be an appropriate approach to completely utilize and therefore treat them. Research has demonstrated that the liquid waste streams have the potential to support crop and algae growth and provide other energy recovery and food production options, while the non-recyclable waste materials and bio-solids can be converted into useable heat, electricity, or fuel and chemical through a variety of processes. In this presentation, new biorefining schemes especially for organic solid and liquid wastes from municipal sources, food and biological processing plants, and animal production facilities have been proposed. Four new breakthrough technologies, namely intermittent vacuum-assisted thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD), extended aquaponics, oily wastes to biodiesel via glycerolysis, and microwave assisted thermochemical conversion, can be incorporated into the biorefining schemes, enabling complete utilization and therefore treatment of those wastes for the production of chemicals, fertilizer, energy (biogas, syngas, biodiesel, and bio-oil), foods, and feeds, resulting in clean water and a significant reduction in pollutant emissions.