SusChEM: Algal-Based Resource Positive Sanitation (ARPS) Systems - An Integrated Modeling Framework to Advance Wastewater Infrastructure Sustainability

1438667这项研究和相关的教育活动将通过为基于藻类的资源回收技术建立系统规模的建模框架来促进市政和农业废水基础设施的可持续性，并将利用该框架向伊利诺伊州农民传授可持续废水管理。研究将追求经济上可行的处理工艺，能够回收营养物质和积极的能源废水管理，并将重点放在克服关键的知识差距上，这些知识差距限制了我们设计基于藻类的资源积极卫生（ARPS）系统的能力，该系统将藻类种植、收获和下游处理结合起来，将废水作为可再生资源进行管理。废水管理通常被农民和市政当局视为一种负担（有充分理由）。传统的卫生办法侧重于减少污染物，造成不可持续的财政模式，导致基础设施破旧，资源管理效率低下。本研究旨在通过开发营养管理的整体方法，通过设计实现微藻培养、收获和加工为燃料的系统，实现能量正营养回收，从而重新设想废水处理。该研究将侧重于开发一个集成的建模框架，该框架将设计决策、操作决策和独立变量（如气候、废水成分）与处理效果、养分回收和能源生产的预测联系起来。研究工作将与一项旨在吸引本科生、伊利诺伊州农民和广大公众（从学龄前儿童到成年人）的教育计划相结合。这些目标将通过以下方式实现：(i)通过针对工程领域代表性不足群体的校园项目指导本科生，（ii）为环境工程本科生开发课程模块，以及（iii）与当地农场和农民教育组织合作开发可持续废水管理模块。本研究的目标是：(1)建立一个集成的建模框架，使ARPS的动态建模和水质、回收营养物质和能源生产的预测成为可能；(2)阐明控制ARPS系统可持续性的机制，并利用这些信息为ARPS的发展建立一条前进的道路。现有的子系统模型（种植、收获、下游加工）将被利用来提供一个基线建模框架，有针对性的实验将使培养和热液液化的新模型得以发展（HTL；初步计算中最大的不确定性来源）。该ARPS模型将整合到定量可持续设计（QSD）框架中（包括生命周期评估、生命周期成本、敏感性和不确定性分析），以确定技术目标，并使决策者能够在不确定性下进行可持续性权衡。还将通过开发两个新的子模型（一个用于培养，一个用于html）来评估增加模型复杂性的好处和缺点。最终，在QSD框架中整合这些模型将使研究人员能够更准确地描述不确定性，量化决策中的权衡，识别ARPS系统长期可行性的关键障碍，并优先考虑研究和投资以推进此类技术。该研究计划将与一项教育计划相结合，让学生、农民和更广泛的公众参与有关废物、水和营养管理的讨论。本科学生将通过教育模块开发和本科研究机会参与。与当地农场和农民教育计划合作，将为伊利诺伊州中部的一所浸入式农民学校开发可持续废水管理和ARPS系统模块。

1438667This research and associated educational activities will advance the sustainability of municipal and agricultural wastewater infrastructure by establishing a systems-scale modeling framework for algal-based resource recovery technologies, and will leverage this framework to teach Illinois farmers about sustainable wastewater management. Research will pursue financially viable treatment processes capable of nutrient recovery and energy positive wastewater management, and will focus on overcoming critical knowledge gaps that limit our ability to design algal-based resource positive sanitation (ARPS) systems integrating algae cultivation, harvesting, and downstream processing to manage wastewater as a renewable resource. Wastewater management is often viewed as a burden by farmers and municipalities (with good cause). Conventional approaches to sanitation focus on pollutant mitigation, resulting in unsustainable financial models that lead to dilapidated infrastructure and inefficient resource management. This research seeks to re-envision wastewater treatment by developing holistic approaches to nutrient management enabling energy positive nutrient recovery through the design of systems that achieve microalgae cultivation, harvesting, and processing to fuels. The research will focus on the development of an integrated modeling framework that links design decisions, operational decisions, and independent variables (e.g., climate, wastewater composition) with predictions of treatment efficacy, nutrient recovery, and energy production. Research efforts will be integrated with an education plan designed to engage undergraduate students, Illinois farmers, and the public at large (from pre-schoolers to adults). These goals will be achieved by (i) mentoring undergraduate students through on-campus programs targeting underrepresented groups in engineering, (ii) developing a course module for environmental engineering undergraduates, and (iii) partnering with a local farm and farmer education organization to develop a module on sustainable wastewater management. Objectives of this research are (i) to establish an integrated modeling framework that enables dynamic modeling of ARPS and the prediction of water quality, recovered nutrients, and the production of energy, and (ii) to elucidate the mechanisms governing the sustainability of ARPS systems and leverage this information to establish a path forward for ARPS development. Existing models of sub-systems (cultivation, harvesting, downstream processing) will be leveraged to provide a baseline modeling framework, and targeted experimentation will enable the development of novel models for cultivation and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL; the greatest source of uncertainty in preliminary calculations). This ARPS model will be integrated in a quantitative sustainable design (QSD) framework (including life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses) to identify technology targets and enable decision-makers to navigate sustainability trade-offs under uncertainty. The benefits and drawbacks of increasing model complexity will also be evaluated through the development of two new sub-models (one for cultivation, one for HTL). Ultimately, the integration of these models in the QSD framework will enable researchers to more accurately characterize uncertainty, quantify trade-offs in decision-making, identify critical barriers to long-term viability of ARPS systems, and prioritize research and investment to advance such technologies. The research plan will be coupled with an educational plan to engage students, farmers, and the broader public in a discussion related to waste, water, and nutrient management. Undergraduate students will be engaged through educational module development and through undergraduate research opportunities. In partnership with a local farm and a farmer educational program, a module will be developed on sustainable wastewater management and ARPS systems for an immersion school for farmers in central Illinois.