REBOOT SIGNED

Project "REBOOT" data sheet

The following table provides information about the project.

 Partnership

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Map

 Project objective

The REBOOT project will create a disruptive wet waste valorisation technology where valuable resources are re-used rather than disposed of while tackling two urgent environmental challenges: nutrient circularity and climate change. Wastewater treatment sludge and manure treatment technologies are currently not satisfactory and there is no solution to efficiently re-use the resources it contains: phosphorous and carbon. The aim of REBOOT is to completely recover phosphorous from wastes while generating carbon neutral transportation fuels and a carbon sink in the form of carbon materials. The project will employ a frontier technology called hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) which uses high temperature and pressure to produce a liquid product similar to petroleum termed bio-crude. This will be used for a range of innovative applications such as renewable aviation fuel, functionalized carbon materials and bio-bitumen. The possibility of complete phosphorous recovery in HTL is a completely new concept, previously thought impossible as only continuous HTL reactors can theoretically achieve this. The complex hydrothermal chemistry of salts can only be exploited on such advanced reactors that are currently beyond state-of-the-art. The specific objectives of REBOOT are: (1) mechanistic understanding of salt behaviour in multi-phase hydrothermal systems with the aim of full recovery. (2) Develop tailored strategies for in-situ jet fuel synthesis. (3) Establish microbial electrolysis cells for in-situ hydrogen production and nutrient recovery. REBOOT will be carried out on pilot continuous reactors, where the challenging physical conditions can be explored, exploited and new engineering solutions developed. If REBOOT is successful it will enable society to tackle existing waste problems while recovering nutrients and producing renewable materials, replacing fossil derived ones; representing a revolutionary solution to wet waste management in the emerging circular bio-economy.