Insight into the co-hydrothermal humification of corn stalk and sewage sludge for enhanced nitrogen-rich humic acid production

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1913-3

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (12) : 153 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1913-3

Insight into the co-hydrothermal humification of corn stalk and sewage sludge for enhanced nitrogen-rich humic acid production

Zhihua Li¹, Yuchao Shao², Wenjing He², Zhangrui Luo², Weizhong Huo², Rong Ye³, Wenjing Lu²(

)

¹. School of Materials, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
². School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
³. Nanjing Institute of Environment Sciences, Ministry of Ecology & Environment, Nanjing 210042, China

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Abstract

● Two mixing modes of hydrothermal humification of corn stalk and sludge were set.

● N-rich hydrothermal humic acid (HHA) from corn stalk and sludge was produced.

● Behavior of hydrothermal humification of corn stalk and sludge was revealed.

● Humification of corn stalk and sludge enhanced N content in HHA.

● HHA derived from corn stalk and sludge has no heavy metal risk.

The high organic carbon content in corn stalks (CS) and the rich nitrogen resources in sewage sludge (SS) render them ideal for the hydrothermal production of nitrogen-enriched hydrothermal humic acid (HHA). This study conducted co-hydrothermal humification experiments using varying ratios of CS to SS under two distinct mixing modes: 1) co-hydrothermal carbonization of CS and SS, followed by alkaline hydrothermal humification to yield HHA, and 2) mixing CS-derived hydrochar with SS, followed by alkaline hydrothermal humification to yield HHA. The results indicated no significant difference in HHA yield between the modes when using equivalent raw material ratios. Importantly, the HHA produced did not pose a heavy metal risk. However, HHA from mode (1) had nearly double the nitrogen content compared to mode (2) and contained more valuable metal elements. The study confirmed that while co-hydrothermal humification of CS and SS did not significantly enhance HHA yield, it did markedly increase nitrogen content. Furthermore, HHA yield decreased with increasing SS content in the raw materials, likely due to SS's high ash content (52.4 wt%). In contrast, the nitrogen content in HHA increased with higher SS content, rising from 2.0 wt% to 3.8 wt% in mode (1) and from 1.1 wt% to 2.3 wt% in mode (2). Upon comprehensive analysis of both modes, the study suggests that mode (1) is more promising for engineering applications, as it facilitates the efficient disposal of a larger amount of SS.

Keywords Corn stalk Sewage sludge Hydrothermal humification Hydrochar Humic acid Nitrogen content

Corresponding Author(s): Wenjing Lu

About author:

Issue Date: 11 October 2024

Cite this article:

Zhihua Li,Yuchao Shao,Wenjing He, et al. Insight into the co-hydrothermal humification of corn stalk and sewage sludge for enhanced nitrogen-rich humic acid production[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(12): 153.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1913-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I12/153

Fig.1 (a) The hydrochar yield from corn stalk (CS), sewage sludge (SS), and their combinations; (b) the hydrothermal humic acid (HHA) yield from CS-derived, SS-derived, and their combinations-derived hydrochars with or without ash content.

Tab.1 The ultimate analysis of raw materials, hydrochars and hydrothermal humic acids

Fig.2 (a) The hydrochar-derived hydrothermal humic acid (HHA) yield obtained by the combinations experiments of corn stalk and sewage sludge (actual value) vs. the yield calculated by the individual corn stalk hydrochar-derived HHA and sewage sludge hydrochar-derived HHA (calculated value); (b) the HHA yield obtained by the combinations experiments of corn stalk-derived hydrochar and raw sewage sludge (actual value) vs. the yield calculated by the individual corn stalk hydrochar-derived HHA and sewage sludge-derived HHA (Calculated value).

Fig.3 (a) The nitrogen content in hydrothermal humic acid (HHA) obtained by the combinations experiments of 1 g corn stalk and sewage sludge (actual value) vs. the nitrogen content in HHA calculated by the individual corn stalk hydrochar-derived HHA and sewage sludge hydrochar-derived HHA (calculated value); (b) the nitrogen content in HHA obtained by the combinations experiments of 1 g corn stalk-derived hydrochar and raw sewage sludge (actual value) vs. the nitrogen content in HHA calculated by the individual corn stalk hydrochar-derived HHA and sewage sludge-derived HHA (calculated value).

Fig.4 The high-resolution XPS scan of the N 1s for each hydrothermal humic acid obtained in (a) G1, (b) G2, (c) G3, (d) G4, (e) G5, and (f) G6 trials.

Fig.5 The FT-IR spectra of each hydrothermal humic acid obtained in G1–G6 trials.

Fig.6 The fluorescence characteristics of hydrothermal humic acids produced from combinations of corn stalk and sewage sludge ((a) G1, (b) G2, and (c) G3 trials) and combinations of corn stalk-derived hydrochar and sewage sludge ((d) G4, (e) G5, and (f) G6 trials).

Fig.7 The hydrothermal humic acid yields obtained from the combination of corn stalk-derived hydrochar and sewage sludge (HC + SS) vs. that obtained from the combination of corn stalk and sewage sludge (CS + SS).

Tab.2 The metal content of each obtained hydrothermal humic acid (HHA)

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