{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110750"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110750","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Advanced anaerobic treatment for energy recovery and improved process economics in the management of biorefinery wastewaters","abstract":"As efforts increase to shift energy sources away from fossil fuels, bioenergy has been identified as one potential mechanism to reduce the environmental impacts of liquid fuels. But to be able to realize the environmental benefits offered by bioenergy development requires cost competitiveness of biofuels and their coproducts. This study set out to improve biorefinery process economics and enable more robust techno-economic analyses (TEAs) through a focused analysis and evaluation of the wastewater treatment process and more specifically, the anaerobic treatment system design. To this effect, this study began with a comprehensive wastewater characterization and composition analysis to verify its suitability for digestion. From there the wastewater was further evaluated to determine potential methane yield, drawing upon a combination of literature-derived values and theoretical calculations. Finally, the results from the wastewater analysis were fed into the developed process model for the chosen anaerobic treatment technology. The internal circulation (IC) reactor, a high-rate anaerobic treatment system, was selected because of its unique ability to handle high-strength wastewaters consistent with biorefinery operations, while recovering energy and significantly reducing the system size and area required. This design and assessment of the anaerobic treatment system was based on the model corn stover biorefinery wastewater, but this process is generalizable for any such wastewater. The detailed and rigorous design process described in this study can help produce more robust biorefinery TEAs and could help advance the financial viability of biofuel production.","abstract_html":"As efforts increase to shift energy sources away from fossil fuels, bioenergy has been identified as one potential mechanism to reduce the environmental impacts of liquid fuels. But to be able to realize the environmental benefits offered by bioenergy development requires cost competitiveness of biofuels and their coproducts. This study set out to improve biorefinery process economics and enable more robust techno-economic analyses (TEAs) through a focused analysis and evaluation of the wastewater treatment process and more specifically, the anaerobic treatment system design. To this effect, this study began with a comprehensive wastewater characterization and composition analysis to verify its suitability for digestion. From there the wastewater was further evaluated to determine potential methane yield, drawing upon a combination of literature-derived values and theoretical calculations. Finally, the results from the wastewater analysis were fed into the developed process model for the chosen anaerobic treatment technology. The internal circulation (IC) reactor, a high-rate anaerobic treatment system, was selected because of its unique ability to handle high-strength wastewaters consistent with biorefinery operations, while recovering energy and significantly reducing the system size and area required. This design and assessment of the anaerobic treatment system was based on the model corn stover biorefinery wastewater, but this process is generalizable for any such wastewater. The detailed and rigorous design process described in this study can help produce more robust biorefinery TEAs and could help advance the financial viability of biofuel production.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kontos, George Andrew"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Environ Engr in Civil Engr","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Guest, Jeremy S"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09-17T02:34:49Z","date_published":"2021-09-17T02:34:49Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:52Z","subjects":["anaerobic digestion","wastewater treatment","biogas","biodegradability","biofuel","lignocellulosic biomass"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2021 George Kontos"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110750","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Guest, Jeremy S"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kontos, George Andrew"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2021-09-17T02:34:49Z","2023-09-17T02:34:57Z","2021-04-29","2021-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Environ Engr in Civil Engr"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anaerobic digestion","wastewater treatment","biogas","biodegradability","biofuel","lignocellulosic biomass"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2021 George Kontos"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110750"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["As efforts increase to shift energy sources away from fossil fuels, bioenergy has been identified as one potential mechanism to reduce the environmental impacts of liquid fuels. But to be able to realize the environmental benefits offered by bioenergy development requires cost competitiveness of biofuels and their coproducts. This study set out to improve biorefinery process economics and enable more robust techno-economic analyses (TEAs) through a focused analysis and evaluation of the wastewater treatment process and more specifically, the anaerobic treatment system design. To this effect, this study began with a comprehensive wastewater characterization and composition analysis to verify its suitability for digestion. From there the wastewater was further evaluated to determine potential methane yield, drawing upon a combination of literature-derived values and theoretical calculations. Finally, the results from the wastewater analysis were fed into the developed process model for the chosen anaerobic treatment technology. The internal circulation (IC) reactor, a high-rate anaerobic treatment system, was selected because of its unique ability to handle high-strength wastewaters consistent with biorefinery operations, while recovering energy and significantly reducing the system size and area required. This design and assessment of the anaerobic treatment system was based on the model corn stover biorefinery wastewater, but this process is generalizable for any such wastewater. The detailed and rigorous design process described in this study can help produce more robust biorefinery TEAs and could help advance the financial viability of biofuel production.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2023-05-01","The student, George Kontos, accepted the attached license on 2021-04-29 at 09:49.","The student, George Kontos, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2021-04-29 at 10:01.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2021-04-29 at 13:27.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #16593 on 2021-09-16 at 17:06:30","Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-17T02:34:49Z (GMT). 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But to be able to realize the environmental benefits offered by bioenergy development requires cost competitiveness of biofuels and their coproducts. This study set out to improve biorefinery process economics and enable more robust techno-economic analyses (TEAs) through a focused analysis and evaluation of the wastewater treatment process and more specifically, the anaerobic treatment system design. To this effect, this study began with a comprehensive wastewater characterization and composition analysis to verify its suitability for digestion. From there the wastewater was further evaluated to determine potential methane yield, drawing upon a combination of literature-derived values and theoretical calculations. Finally, the results from the wastewater analysis were fed into the developed process model for the chosen anaerobic treatment technology. The internal circulation (IC) reactor, a high-rate anaerobic treatment system, was selected because of its unique ability to handle high-strength wastewaters consistent with biorefinery operations, while recovering energy and significantly reducing the system size and area required. This design and assessment of the anaerobic treatment system was based on the model corn stover biorefinery wastewater, but this process is generalizable for any such wastewater. 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