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

随着对气候变化的日益关注以及全球能源和自然资源的枯竭，迫切需要迅速转向可再生能源和化学品。与此同时，地球上城市人口的持续激增和现代化导致了生物固体的产量不断增加，这些生物固体往往被作为废物处理。然而，这些生物固体是可再生的有机物质来源，可以转化为能源和有价值的化学品。在加拿大，废水处理厂每年产生超过660,000干吨的生物固体，随着根据加拿大环境部长理事会(CCME)2009年批准的加拿大全加拿大城市污水管理战略建造新的和升级的设施，这一数量预计将增加。最近，CCME在2012年批准了一项新的国家政策，要求有益地利用市政生物固体中的宝贵资源。世界其他地方也观察到了类似的趋势。欧盟15个国家的污泥总产量比1984年增加了约50%，2010年达到1000万吨/年，中国污水处理厂预计到2015年将产生1000万吨/年的生物固体。因此，通过转化为生物燃料和生物化学物质从生物固体中提取价值将减少浪费并降低整体温室气体排放。

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.