A method for selectively removing micro-contaminants from sludge, the method includes a) providing sludge contaminated with micro-contaminants, and b) subjecting the sludge to a primary treatment step, thereby producing a first stream of primary sludge comprising a first part of micro-contaminants and a second stream of remaining sludge comprising a second part of micro-contaminants, c) subjecting the second stream of remaining sludge to a secondary treatment step, thereby producing biological sludge, wherein the first stream of primary sludge and the biological sludge are further subjected to separate treatment steps whose effects are coupled, so as to divert, capture and destroy the first part of micro-contaminants in the primary treatment step.

A technique, method and system for drying a solid waste stream in a pyrolysis recycling installation, including drying the waste stream in a first dryer, feeding the partially dried waste stream from the first dryer to a second dryer, further drying the waste stream in the second dryer to produce a dried waste stream, and feeding the dried waste stream from the second dryer to a pyrolysis unit, wherein the first and second dryers dry the waste stream primarily, or exclusively, using heat generated from the pyrolysis unit.

The specification describes a system and process for treating a sludge or slurry to produce biochar. The sludge or in slurry may be digestate produced by an anaerobic digester that receives waste activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant. In a process, digestate is dosed with metal ions, dewatered, and pyrolized. A corresponding system includes a reactor, a dewatering unit and a pyrolysis unit. In an example, the digestate is air stripped in the reactor and a metal salt is added to it. The metal ions form precipitates in the digestate that remain in the biochar. In some cases, a precipitate such as struvite is formed that also increases the phosphorous content of the biochar. The biochar may be used as a soil amendment, wherein the metal and phosphorous are beneficial to the soil.

The present invention relates to a composite treatment and recovery technique of polluted water body and soil. Iron-rich straw biomass, after being crushed, is mixed and granulated with sludge, and is pyrolytic charred by programmed heating, to obtain bulk loaded zero-valent iron biochar and sludge biochar composite particles, which are packed as fillers in a filled bed or as filters in filter cells of a fixed bed, for effective recovery of complex polluted water, polluted by heavy metals, organics, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the like.

The invention relates to a co-pyrolyzed sludge biochar modified by lanthanum carbonate, a preparation method and a use thereof. The method comprises: adding a co-pyrolyzed sludge biochar into a metal salt solution of lanthanum ions, heating and adding a carbonate solution until the pH is 8 to 9, and standing still at a constant temperature, and separating to obtain a co-pyrolyzed sludge biochar modified by lanthanum carbonate, the sludge biochar is prepared by co-pyrolysis of sludge and bamboo. The co-pyrolyzed sludge biochar modified by lanthanum carbonate prepared by the present invention can effectively adsorb and remove phosphate in water due to containing the lanthanum carbonate with strong affinity for anions and a larger specific surface area.

The present disclosure provides a method for genetically engineering Yarrowia lipolytica host cell for producing glycolic acid from organic wastes. A subject genetically engineered Y. lipolytica cell comprises the disrupted native genes encoding malate synthase, heterologous enzyme of glyoxylate reductase targeted in the different cellular compartments including mitochondria, peroxisome and cytosol, and a mutant NADP.sup.+-dependent malate dehydrogenase. The pathway with a theoretical yield as high as that 1 g of acetic acid can be converted to 1.27 g of glycolic acid without carbon loss was engineered for glycolic acid production. The methods particularly include process for production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) mainly comprised of acetic acid from organic waste, and then use of resultant VFAs for biosynthesis of glycolic acid by recombinant Y. lipolytica.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to drying a wet coated seed material stream comprising an incoming wet granular biosolids stream mixed with a controlled size dried seed material recycling stream to produce a moist air and pellet stream, separating an uncontrolled size dried pellet stream from the moist air and pellet stream, diverting a recycle portion of the uncontrolled size dried pellet stream to be recycled, diverting the remainder of the uncontrolled size dried pellet stream to an outlet, resizing oversized pellets from the recycle portion of the uncontrolled size dried pellet stream to produce the controlled size dried seed material recycling stream, and mixing the controlled size dried seed material recycling stream with the incoming wet granular biosolids stream to produce the wet coated seed material stream. Oversized pellets may be selected using a screen. The oversized pellets may be resized using a crusher inline with the recycle stream.

Described are methods and devices for the treatment of fecal matter. A column reactor is used to smolder fecal matter to produce and a volatile components stream and smoldered media. The volatile components stream may be subject to catalysis to reduce the emission of noxious substances and/or generate heat energy. Also described is the use of a turntable for removing smoldered media from the column reactor.

A compact waste combustion system deployed within a portable toilet has a burn chamber that includes a processor, a burner, a trapdoor mechanism configured to seal an entrance to the burn chamber when the compact waste combustion system is operated in a first mode and a waste receptacle configured to feed waste material to the burn chamber through the trapdoor mechanism in a second mode of operation. The processor may be configured to detect presence of a waste in the waste receptacle, configure the system to operate in the second mode and to pass waste into the burn chamber, configure the compact waste combustion system to operate in the first mode after the waste has passed into the burn chamber, and activate the burner when the compact waste combustion system is operated in the first mode and the waste is located in the burn chamber.

At least one aspect of the technology provides a self-contained processing facility configured to convert organic, high water-content waste, such as fecal sludge and garbage, into electricity while also generating and collecting potable water.