NWaste2H2- H2 Production by Reforming Bio-methane with Nitrogen Rich Waste Streams
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Chemical and Process Engineering
Abstract
The NWaste2H2 project aims to demonstrate that reducing the energy requirements and the associated greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O) emissions of biogas production at anaerobic digestion at AD plants and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) whilst producing the clean energy vector hydrogen from reforming of the renewable biogas can be effected economically in the UK.
This project brings together for 2 years a team of expert researchers in AD from wastes (Camargo-Valero), H2 production (Dupont) and energy systems (Cockerill) across three Engineering schools at Leeds, as well as industrial and external collaborators in the WWTP, AD research, H2 production industry, UK City and County Councils, with academic partners in India, China, Thailand and Malaysia who are members of the Scientific Advisory Board for the project. The combined efforts will deliver detailed process model, UK-wide technology deployment model considering the different uses of the H2 produced downstream of the process, economic evaluation and LCA of integrated H2 production from biogas and Nitrogen-rich waste streams from anaerobic digestion at Anaerobic Digestion and Wastewater Treatment plants.
Funding for the project will provide for the costs of employment of a postdoctoral assistant for 18 months, as well as the laboratory expenses for a PhD student funded through the Centre for Doctoral Training on Bioenergy at The University of Leeds, and the dissemination and travel costs associated with presenting the work at world conferences on bioenergy and hydrogen.
The premise behind the proposed technology is to exploit the ability of reforming nitrogen rich organic co-feeds to hydrogen and nitrogen gas, with carbon dioxide as co-product, which allows diverting a large waste stream from the denitrification stage at AD/wastewater treatment plants. Both catalytic processes of steam reforming and autothermal reforming will be investigated as potential H2 production routes. Denitrification of digestate liquor at WWT currently represents a very significant capital and energy burden which results in significant nitrous oxide (N2O) gas emissions, when N2O has a global warming potential roughly 300 times that of CO2 over a 100 years horizon. The NWaste2H2 process will have to show high conversions not just to hydrogen gas but also to nitrogen gas in order to significantly divert N-rich waste streams from the denitrification step.
This project brings together for 2 years a team of expert researchers in AD from wastes (Camargo-Valero), H2 production (Dupont) and energy systems (Cockerill) across three Engineering schools at Leeds, as well as industrial and external collaborators in the WWTP, AD research, H2 production industry, UK City and County Councils, with academic partners in India, China, Thailand and Malaysia who are members of the Scientific Advisory Board for the project. The combined efforts will deliver detailed process model, UK-wide technology deployment model considering the different uses of the H2 produced downstream of the process, economic evaluation and LCA of integrated H2 production from biogas and Nitrogen-rich waste streams from anaerobic digestion at Anaerobic Digestion and Wastewater Treatment plants.
Funding for the project will provide for the costs of employment of a postdoctoral assistant for 18 months, as well as the laboratory expenses for a PhD student funded through the Centre for Doctoral Training on Bioenergy at The University of Leeds, and the dissemination and travel costs associated with presenting the work at world conferences on bioenergy and hydrogen.
The premise behind the proposed technology is to exploit the ability of reforming nitrogen rich organic co-feeds to hydrogen and nitrogen gas, with carbon dioxide as co-product, which allows diverting a large waste stream from the denitrification stage at AD/wastewater treatment plants. Both catalytic processes of steam reforming and autothermal reforming will be investigated as potential H2 production routes. Denitrification of digestate liquor at WWT currently represents a very significant capital and energy burden which results in significant nitrous oxide (N2O) gas emissions, when N2O has a global warming potential roughly 300 times that of CO2 over a 100 years horizon. The NWaste2H2 process will have to show high conversions not just to hydrogen gas but also to nitrogen gas in order to significantly divert N-rich waste streams from the denitrification step.
Planned Impact
Denitrification (DN) is a necessary energy intensive and capital expensive process retrofit at wastewater treatment plants (WTTP), as nitrogen in their effluent can cause toxicity to fish and eutriphication of waterways. During DN, up to 14.6% of the total nitrogen load of wastewater treatment plants could be emitted to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 298 times higher than CO2 and responsible for 8% of climate forcing. WTTP operate with two streams rich in N: the raw feedstock urine in the form of urea (upstream) and the digestate liquor (DL) in the form of mainly ammonia (downstream). In many AD processes, digestate liquor is not recycled as fertiliser. We have shown that using a catalyst, urea can successfully undergo steam reforming following: CO(NH2)2 +H2O = CO2 + 3H2 + N2, and that ammonia can also successfully undergo catalytically cracking with the same catalyst via reaction 2NH2= N2+2H2. Both urine and DL are highly aqueous and are proposed to be used as 'water' feedstock in the steam methane reforming reaction, their C, H, and N content yielding additional H2 product with direct conversion of the N content to harmless N2. This avoids significant N2O emissions as well as the energy costs (CO2 equivalent) of a subsequently much reduced denitrification burden at the WTTP or AD plant. This project explores the feasibility of reforming biogas with diverted urine and digestate liquor. Preliminary techno-economical assessment using AspenTech's Aspen Plus process modelling and economic evaluator of the proposed integrated processes have shown that significant synergies between a new H2 production plant and a WTTP at scale such as Yorkshire Water's at Esholt, , using input data collected via a current PhD project. Calculated impacts for Esholt's plant which treats 105,000 m3 of sewage/day, would be the production of 2,534 kg of hydrogen a day from the plant's biogas and digestate liquor, and would potentially save 1.8 tonne of CO2 equivalent per day in the form of avoided N2O emissions, with energy savings of 4,200 kWh/day in the integrated WWT/AD/H2/power process compared to the current WWT/AD/CHP configuration, due to reduced flows to the denitrification stage. The H2 production itself would be augmented by 6% compared to a H2 plant running on conventional steam reforming AD-generated biomethane.
The UK now processes more than 16 billion litres of wastewater a day (150 times Esholt's) and close to 2 Mt of food waste at its many AD plants (100 Nm3/ton of bio-CH4), significant avoidance of GHG emissions whilst producing renewable Hydrogen is strong.
The project will be able to make more detailed forecasts of what the deployment of the NWaste2H2 technology could mean for the UK and will also, through in depth Life Cycle Analysis, process evaluation, and rigorous techno-economic assessment planned in the project, define the wider range of impacts of a well-defined UK scenario for NWaste2H2 technology. This will be facilitated by the inputs from our external collaborators from industry (Northern Gas Networks, Leeds City Council and Lincolnshire County Council, TST Ltd, Defiant Renewables) who are members of our management board which will meet quarterly.
Although the feasibility study will focus on deployment in the UK, further impacts can be expected from the intake of this technology by countries where anaerobic digestion is fast growing as a means for producing renewable energy and waste management such as India, China, Malaysia, and Thailand, where our academic collaborators are based. This will be done firstly via academic impact, i.e. through joint publications and co-supervision of Masters and PhD projects, but in the future, we hope, leading to commercialisation and resulting creation of graduates, wealth and jobs in countries of low and middle income who will have to address soaring GHG emissions in the near future
The UK now processes more than 16 billion litres of wastewater a day (150 times Esholt's) and close to 2 Mt of food waste at its many AD plants (100 Nm3/ton of bio-CH4), significant avoidance of GHG emissions whilst producing renewable Hydrogen is strong.
The project will be able to make more detailed forecasts of what the deployment of the NWaste2H2 technology could mean for the UK and will also, through in depth Life Cycle Analysis, process evaluation, and rigorous techno-economic assessment planned in the project, define the wider range of impacts of a well-defined UK scenario for NWaste2H2 technology. This will be facilitated by the inputs from our external collaborators from industry (Northern Gas Networks, Leeds City Council and Lincolnshire County Council, TST Ltd, Defiant Renewables) who are members of our management board which will meet quarterly.
Although the feasibility study will focus on deployment in the UK, further impacts can be expected from the intake of this technology by countries where anaerobic digestion is fast growing as a means for producing renewable energy and waste management such as India, China, Malaysia, and Thailand, where our academic collaborators are based. This will be done firstly via academic impact, i.e. through joint publications and co-supervision of Masters and PhD projects, but in the future, we hope, leading to commercialisation and resulting creation of graduates, wealth and jobs in countries of low and middle income who will have to address soaring GHG emissions in the near future
Organisations
- University of Leeds (Lead Research Organisation)
- Aqua Consultants (Collaboration)
- Northern Gas Networks Ltd (Collaboration)
- Leeds City Council (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Northumbrian Water (Collaboration)
- Twigg Scientific and Technical Ltd (Project Partner)
- Lincolnshire County Council (Project Partner)
- Defiant Energy Pvt Ltd (Project Partner)
- Northern Gas Networks (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
Publications
Grasham Oliver Richard
(2019)
Assessment of novel utilisation pathways for biogas and nitrogenous waste streams at wastewater treatment plants
Grasham O
(2019)
Combined ammonia recovery and solid oxide fuel cell use at wastewater treatment plants for energy and greenhouse gas emission improvements
in Applied Energy
Grasham O
(2020)
Hydrogen via reforming aqueous ammonia and biomethane co-products of wastewater treatment: environmental and economic sustainability
in Sustainable Energy & Fuels
Aragón-Briceño C
(2021)
Mass and energy integration study of hydrothermal carbonization with anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge
in Renewable Energy
Description | PhD student Oliver Grasham has published his thesis, and prepared two more publication drafts to be submitted shortly. We currently have the following key findings: -sensitivity analysis of economic viability of integrating solid oxide fuel cell fuelled on site at wastewater treatment plant with its anaerobic digestion unit's biogas and recovered ammonia for combined heat and power (H & P) generation and complete H&P autonomy of the WWTP. Results show a viable economic integrated process with significant annual greenhouse gas emissions savings and low sensitivity to capital expenditure costs. Integrated plant is viable if no other recent H&P is already present on site and the plant becomes economically viable within 6 years.. -sensitivity analysis of economic viability of integrated hydrogen production from co-steam reforming anaerobic digestion (AD) unit's biogas and catalytic cracking of recovered ammonia from AD unit's digestate at wastewater treatment plant. Results also show potential economic viability of integrated process but highly sensitive to selling price of green hydrogen and to compression pressure at which the H2 needs to be stored on site. For a price of 4.5£/kg H2 and compression of 350 bar (suitable for car/vehicle refueling), the plant can generate benefit beyond recouping investors' capital return within 6 years. -investigation of implementation of the NWaste2H2 across the UK enabled identification of the potential sites at wastewater treatment plants and anaerobic digestion plants with biogas and digestate production rates sufficiently large to justify the expense of installing NWaste2H2.Paper with the results is in draft form, in the paper, estimates are presented of the contribution of UK-wide implementation of NWaste2H2 to the renewables power output of the UK . -a MSc research project estimated that the embodied CO2 equivalent emissions in the NWaste2H2 infrastructure represented just a few percent of the avoided greenhouse gas emissions throughout the 20 years lifetime of a NWaste2H2 plant. |
Exploitation Route | further data obtained by Oliver Grasham with cost calculations and NPV will be made available via open access publications and open access DOI. |
Sectors | Chemicals Energy Environment Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261919303277 |
Description | Our paper showed the results of modelling a solid oxide fuel cell operating on fuel consisting of recovered ammonia from digestate liquor and biogas produced at the anaerobic digestion from wastewater. We used our results to submit a funding application to Melbourne Waster in 2018, unfortunately we did not obtain the funding. A great part of the modelling expertise developed by Oliver Grasham during the NWaste2H2 project is now being used in the BBSRC GCRF BB/S011439/1 BEFWAM-BIOENERGY, FERTILISER AND CLEAN WATER FROM INVASIVE AQUATIC MACROPHYTES, and EP/R030243/1 GCRF -CRESUM-HYRES Creating resilient sustainable microgrids through hybrid renewable energy systems, which are making impact on both India and Uganda's capacity building in modelling of anaerobic digestion (BEFWAM) and biomass conversion processes. The 2022 publication (https://doi.org/10.3390/en15062174) brings together major objectives from the project and findings presented in the 2019 and 2020 publications (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.029 and https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SE01335H) and applies them in a national perspective to showcase the overall potential impact of process adoption in both techno-economic and environmental terms |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | BEFWAM-BIOENERGY, FERTILISER AND CLEAN WATER FROM INVASIVE AQUATIC MACROPHYTES |
Amount | £1,708,769 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/S011439/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2019 |
End | 01/2022 |
Description | Biochar Demonstrator Addressing Key Deployment Barriers for Carbon Sequestration |
Amount | £4,389,133 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/V011596/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 10/2025 |
Description | Creating Resilient Sustainable Microgrids through Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems |
Amount | £1,259,750 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/R030243/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2018 |
End | 04/2021 |
Description | EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Bioenergy |
Amount | £4,340,756 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/L014912/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2014 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Newton Bhabha Industrial Waste: Bio-integrated Valorisation of India's Municipal Solid Waste to Renewable Feedstocks |
Amount | £607,997 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/S011986/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2018 |
End | 08/2022 |
Description | AquaConsultants contribution to NWaste2H2 management board meetings |
Organisation | Aqua Consultants |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | The NWaste2H2 academic team provide expertise in the techno-economic-sustainability characteristics of implementation of the NWaste2H2 process at wastewater treatment plants and anaerobic digestion plants in the UK, such as those that AquaConsultants have contracts with, in particular anaerobic digestion plants. |
Collaborator Contribution | AquaConsultants contributed to NWaste2H2 management board meetings with their knowledge of the anaerobic digestion industry and its potential for biogas production for the grid, as well as production quantities of digestate liquor used as feedstock in the NWaste2H2 process. |
Impact | AquaConsultants alerted us to the competition set up by Melbourne Water to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their various wastewater treatment sites, for which we made an application, but were ultimately not successful in obtaining. https://www.melbournewater.com.au/community-and-education/apply-funding/innovation-competition-reduce-scope-1-greenhouse-gas |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Leeds City Council contribution to NWaste2H2 management board meetings |
Organisation | Leeds City Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The NWaste2H2 academic team provided expertise on the potential of the implementation of the NWaste2H2 process for the production of green hydrogen in the context of the h21 Leeds city gate project |
Collaborator Contribution | Leeds City Council contributed to the management board meetings of NWaste2H2 relevant to Leeds region's potential for implementation of the NWaste2H2 process at nearby wastewater treatment plants and anaerobic digestion plants. |
Impact | Leeds City Council is actively involved in all the decarbonisation related events at Leeds University, of which NWaste2H2 is a flagship project, for instance, they were co-organisers of the National Hydrogen Summit (27-28 June 2019) , and NWaste2H2 featured in a morning presentation on the 27th June. Pi Valerie Dupont also managed one of the afternoon workshop sessions on H2 production on the 28th June as part of the event. https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/conferences/pr-news/Leeds-first-National-Hydrogen-Summit.aspx# http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/events/national-hydrogen-summit.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IFxVWUoUJc http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/130564/energy/767/hydrogen (Case study: hydrogen production from green ammonia and biogas ) |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Northern Gas Networks contribution to management board meetings |
Organisation | Northern Gas Networks Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | The NWaste2H2 academic team were able to provide the techno-economic basis and expertise for the implementation of the NWaste2H2 process in the UK as a producer of green hydrogen, for utilisation by gas distributor companies like NGN. |
Collaborator Contribution | Northern Gas Networks sent a representative of their company to the Management Board Meetings of the NWaste2H2 grant project. They were able to provide the perspective of the natural gas network distribution (economics, regulations) relevant to green hydrogen produced at wastewater treatment plants and anaerobic digestion plants downstream injection into the grid. |
Impact | NGN were responsible for putting the NWaste2H2 academic team in contact with Northumbrian Water, which belongs to the same company as NGN. This contact was extremely useful in bringing the wastewater and sludge treatment as stakeholder to the project, in particular by establishing a new contact with the Howdon Sludge Treatment plant technical and financial team. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Northumbrian Water contribution to NWaste2H2 management board meetings |
Organisation | Northumbrian Water |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | The NWaste2H2 academic team provided expertise in the techno-economic and sustainability characteristics of implementing the NWaste2H2 process at wastewater treatment plants such as those managed by Northumbrian Water. |
Collaborator Contribution | Northumbrian Water, in particular the technical, research and finance representatives at the Howdon research centre provide the NWaste2H2 academic team with industry based expertise relevant to biogas production at their sludge treatment plant (Howdon) and injection into the natural gas distribution grid, environmental regulations and financial incentives for making biogas injection economically viable. They also provided viable insight in to what are the drivers of low carbon technology implementation in the water companies. |
Impact | there are no direct outputs from this collaboration. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | IChemE Webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Project webinar presentation with IChemE after award for their Water Special Interest Group's Young Process Engineer of the Year Award 2017, with over 150 participants from industry and academia. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.icheme.org/communities/special-interest-groups/water/events/2018/ammonia-recovery.aspx#.W... |
Description | NWaste2H2 Workshop 1 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | First in the a series of two workshops to engage with project collaborators and interested parties gathered during the project. Presentation and discussions of project, its current status and future direction with aim to compile expert knowledge that can be used as a toolbox for the NWaste2H2 project moving forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | NWaste2H2 Workshop 2 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | The second workshop of the project as a closing activity for collaborators, stakeholders and interested parties. Review of key outcomes and how we tackled each of the work packages. Further discussions on how the work will continue with Christina's PhD and beyond. Contributions from attendees to help inform future research directions for optimal impact and strengthening partnerships moving forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation and Meeting with Aqua Consultants (Bradford) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The meeting was arranged to discuss project and prospect of collaboration in grant applications. Project presentation followed by discussions with Aqua Consultants personnel. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Presentation and Meeting with Costain (Manchester) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Engagement presentation and meeting with Costain to discuss project, outcomes and potential for future collaboration potentials. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation at Arup Leeds Office |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Project presentation at Arup office in Leeds with award presentation of IChemE Water SIG award. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | The Fuel and Energy Research Forum: Electricity Generation and Storage Interest Group Seminar - Oral Presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 20 minute presentation at the 2019 Fuel and Energy Research Forum held at the University of Leeds with a focus on the NWaste2H2 solid oxide fuel cell process. Further interest generated from IChemE specifically with post-correspondence and other audience members generally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Wastewater Network Meeting #24: The hydrogen economy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | A presentation was performed for the UK wastewater network, managed by Cranfield University, which brings together 11 UK water utilities to discuss on a quarterly basis hot topics related to wastewater and sludge treatment. The members decide on the topics to cover each year. This meeting was focussed on 'The hydrogen economy' and the results from the NWaste2H2 project were delivered. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://water-and-wastewater-networks.co.uk/event/the-hydrogen-economy/ |
Description | Water@Leeds 10th Anniversary event - Oral presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | 3 minute presentation at Water@Leeds 10th anniversary event at the University of Leeds. Audience included University colleagues, national/international policy makers and industry personnel. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | World Hydrogen Technology Convention (Tokyo) poster presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Poster presentation at the World Hydrogen Technology Convention 2019 in Tokyo, Japan to showcase NWaste2H2 research. Engagement with members of hydrogen-related research and industry community. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |