Fundamental studies of solar photocatalytic pathways for valorization of biosolids to fuels and chemicals

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With the growing concern over climate change and the global depletion of energy and natural resources, there is a pressing need for rapid shift to renewable sources of energy and chemicals. Meanwhile, the ongoing surge in the planet's urban populations and modernization has resulted in the ever increasing production of biosolids that are often disposed as waste. However, these biosolids are renewable sources of organic matter and can be converted to energy and valuable chemicals. In Canada, wastewater treatment plants produce in excess of 660,000 dry tonnes of biosolids per year and this amount is expected to increase as new and upgraded facilities are constructed under the Canada-wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent ratified by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) in 2009. More recently, in 2012, CCME approved a new national policy that requires the beneficial use of valuable resources in municipal biosolids. A similar trend is observed elsewhere in the world. The total sludge production in 15 European Union countries increased by about 50% from 1984 and reached 10 M t/year in 2010, and in China wastewater treatment plants are expected to generate 10 M t/year biosolids by 2015. Therefore, extracting value from biosolids through conversion to biofuels and bio-based chemicals will reduce waste and lower the overall greenhouse gas emissions.