Circularizing Carbon Solutions in the Municipal Sector: Replacing Methanol with Biodegradable (Compostable) Plastics as Carbon Source for Biological Nutrient Removal from Wastewater
Partners: NEWHub Corp, Municipality of Middlesex Centre
With increasing global attention for climate change, municipalities and industries are constantly being asked to report on the carbon footprint of their activities as well as on the implementation of circular economy principles in their production activities. Methanol, a widespread platform carbon chemical, is used in many production cycles, with massive amounts requested for nutrient removal from municipal and industrial wastewaters. With more than 95 billion litres produced worldwide, it is the largest chemical commodity used in society today, with associated emissions amounting to 165M tonnes of climate emissions per year. As such, strategy on the displacement of methanol in the wastewater sector using alternative carbon source accessible through circularization of economy will be the only sustainable solution to avoid both massive CO2 emissions from methanol usage in wastewater. This issue is highly relevant for Canada and Ontario, with regulations rapidly evolving towards the implementation of stricter nutrient limits for plants located in catchments connected to the system of Great Lakes. To put things in perspective, 5 mg/L of methanol are required for each mg of nitrate to be removed heterotrophically in wastewater treatment plants.
The research idea proposed in this study is aligned with the carbon mitigation and reduction theme of the Carbon Solution program. If proven viable, it can lead to the development of disruptive technologies for wastewater treatment based on the use of biodegradable plastics rather than methanol. Moreover, the proposed solution will help municipalities in identifying and implementing sustainable end-of-waste strategies for plastics.
Researcher Biographies
Domenico Santoro
Adjunct Research Professor
Team Leader, Advanced Modeling & Optimization Team, Trojan Technologies
Domenico Santoro completed his BSc/MSc in Civil/Environmental Engineering at the University of Rome, La Sapienza (Italy) in 2001 specializing in water and wastewater treatment. Subsequently, he received his Ph.D. in the Department of Environmental Engineering & Sustainability at the Politecnico di Bari (Italy) conducting research on advanced disinfection for wastewater reuse. His Ph.D. dissertation, entitled “Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling of Wastewater Disinfection Processes by Peroxyacetic Acid (PAA)”, paved the way for a broader adoption of PAA as an environmentally-friendly disinfectant for municipal water and wastewater treatment. Currently, Dr. Santoro holds a dual appointment as Senior Research Scientist at Trojan Technologies (London, ON – Canada) and Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Western Ontario. His main responsibilities include scientific investigation and development of novel water treatment processes and technologies, with a focus on disinfection and advanced oxidation for drinking water, wastewater and reuse applications. More recently, he has expanded his research interests into the field of resource recovery and holistic wastewater resource management. He has also been very active in initiating and leading research collaborations at the global scale, including work with partners from Canada, Europe, China, Australia and USA.
Lars Rehmann
Professor at The University of Western Ontario and Visiting Professor at RWTH Aachen (Germany)
- NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellow (University of Manchester) 2007-2009
- Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (Queen's University, Canada)
- Diplom Biotechnologie (T.U. Braunschweig, Germany) 2002
Current research focuses on the production of bio-fuels and value added chemicals through biochemical conversion processes. The research is highly interdisciplinary and there are occasional openings for new graduate students.
