Addressing Challenge and Upcycle of Biomasses in Wastewater Sludges

In the context of the management of wastewater purification plants, one of the major critical issues in the last five years has been, and continues to be, the unavailability of sites where the ever-increasing quantities of sludge produced can be disposed of. Within the perspective of minimizing and managing sludge, exploring enhanced solutions like syngas, biochar, and energy production is feasible. However, it is essential to shift the focus upstream and address the issue systematically by intervening appropriately in various sections of wastewater treatment processes. This work addresses the problem of minimizing the sludge produced in purification plants, with an interdisciplinary functional approach. An innovative decision-making digital tool has been developed that integrates the "Data-Driven" Digitalization approach with the "Knowledge Embedded" multidisciplinary one. The results deriving from the use of the software are encouraging because they allow to choose the best operational strategy in order to minimize the quantity of sludge produced by the plant.