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建立基于藻类的资源回收技术的系统规模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的农民传授可持续废水管理。研究将追求经济上可行的处理过程，能够恢复营养和积极的能源废水管理，并将专注于克服关键的知识差距，限制我们设计基于藻类的资源积极卫生(ARPS)系统的能力，该系统集成藻类培养、收获和下游处理，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(有充分的理由)。传统的卫生方法侧重于减少污染物，导致不可持续的财务模式，导致基础设施破败和资源管理效率低下。这项研究试图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，实现能量正向养分回收，从而重新展望废水处理。这项研究将侧重于开发一个综合建模框架，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)通过针对工程学中代表性不足的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。这项研究的目标是(I)建立一个集成的建模框架，能够对ARPS进行动态建模，并预测水质、恢复的营养物质和能量的生产，以及(Ii)阐明ARPS系统可持续性的控制机制，并利用这些信息为ARPS的发展制定一条前进道路。将利用现有的分系统模型(种植、收获、下游加工)来提供基准建模框架，并进行有针对性的实验，从而能够开发新的耕作和热液液化模型(HTL；初步计算中最大的不确定性来源)。这一ARPS模型将被整合到量化可持续设计(QSD)框架中(包括生命周期评估、生命周期成本计算、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情况下进行可持续性权衡。还将通过开发两个新的子模型(一个用于种植，一个用于HTL)来评估增加模型复杂性的好处和缺点。最终，将这些模型集成到QSD框架中将使研究人员能够更准确地描述不确定性，量化决策过程中的权衡，识别ARPS系统长期生存的关键障碍，并将研究和投资放在优先位置，以推动此类技术的发展。研究计划将与教育计划相结合，让学生、农民和更广泛的公众参与到与废物、水和养分管理有关的讨论中。本科生将通过教育模块开发和本科生研究机会参与进来。与当地一个农场和一个农民教育项目合作，将为伊利诺伊州中部的一所农民沉浸式学校开发一个关于可持续废水管理和ARPS系统的模块。

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.