Market Value for Various Biosolids Products from Innovative Biosolids Technologies (WRF Project #5169)

...Introduction: Biosolids are an organic and nutrient-rich product that are an important and valuable resource than can be used beneficially to support the advancement of the circular water economy. However, the market for the beneficial use of biosolids has been increasing challenged by concerns regarding high cost and limited land application opportunities, public perception, and contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs), such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) and microplastics. In response to these rising challenges, a range of innovative biosolids management alternatives have been emerging that can help utilities overcome some of these challenges. To comprehensively understand the potential of innovative biosolids management alternatives to address these challenges, a holistic evaluation framework (...Figure 1) was developed. ...Objective: The information presented provides valuable and practical information to utilities including: 1) definition, function, and level of readiness of innovative biosolids treatment technologies and 2) a market assessment and value of the various end products identified through the technology screening. The proposed presentation will inform utilities of emerging technologies to address specific challenges, offer insight to different end-products from innovative technologies, and provide an assessment of diverse end-products from an aggregated dollar value perspective. ...Status: The project is funded by the Water Research Foundation (WRF 5169) and will produce an adaptable tool that utilities can use to select suitable, practical, and sustainable innovative technologies for implementation. The project is ongoing and will be completed the second half of 2024. Three of the six tasks have been completed. ...Methodology: The comprehensive technology review and evaluation gathered information from more than 140 references, including published literature (focused on peer-reviewed literature), gray literature (information from vendors, including WRF's TechLink), information from various associations, and responses from an online survey. Once the initial number of innovative technologies was compiled, several screenings were conducted to determine applicability and if it would advance to further evaluation. Technologies captured from the comprehensive search were required to provide at least one of the following benefits compared to established technologies to be considered as 'innovative technology.'

*Reduce biosolids quantity.

*Improve end-product quality.

*Enhance energy generation.

*Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

*Reduce emerging contaminants. The findings from the initial evaluation were then screened to determine whether the technology is classified as 'innovative,' in alignment with the definition developed by the EPA (1). The innovative biosolids management technologies identified produce a variety of valuable products. To assess the markets for these products, an evaluation was conducted comparing the value of these end products to a standard of Class A/EQ dewatered cake. The suite of end products evaluated is presented in Table 1. Information was gathered from various sources including scientific journal articles, industry reports, technology vendors, characterization data, and professional experience. End-products, including a baseline product of Class A/EQ dewatered cake, were assessed on the following categories:

*Inherent Value

*Market Suitability / Access

*Cost of Management / Market Value

*Contaminants of Emerging Concern Removal ...Findings Following the initial screening 35 technologies met the defined criteria for innovation, seen in ...Table 2. The results from this evaluation will be presented on an accessible interactive dashboard for utilities and other interested parties (...Figure 2). The presented information will include definitions, fact sheets, benefits to existing technologies and more. The innovative technologies identified resulted in a variety of end products that were further evaluated in the context of the existing market. To contextualize the value of the various end products, they were evaluated from a cost perspective, specifically aggregated dollar value of nutrients and carbon, shown in ...Figure 3. On a per-dry ton basis, biochar and struvite have the highest inherent value (...Figure 3), and biochar has value in the greatest number of constituents/properties, suggesting a relatively wider market applicability. Market access (...Table 3), which is based on professional opinion/experience, assigns a score of 0 (low access) to 1 (high access) and supports the assertion that biochar has wide market access. The 'net market benefit' (...Figure 4) equals the market access score multiplied by the average cost of management and expresses the potential for cost recovery. The results of the market evaluation clearly show the positive net market benefit of end products from innovative biosolids management technologies in comparison to the baseline Class A/EQ biosolids. Each end product greatly reduces costs to the utility compared to Class A/EQ biosolids, and often even had potential to bring revenue to the utility. The identified innovative biosolids treatment technologies can diversify end product outlets by providing a wider range of accessible markets.