New technology to enable sustainable production of bio-oils from treated sewage

Australian technology developed at RMIT University could enable  more sustainable and cheaper production of bio-oils to replace petroleum-based products in electronic, construction and automotive applications .

The technology, known as  PYROCOTM, uses high temperatures without oxygen to convert treated sewage (biosolids) into a carbon-rich product called biochar , which can  act as a catalyst to produce phenol-rich bio-oil .

PYROCOTM has been developed by  RMIT  in collaboration with  South East Water ,  Intelligent Water Networks  and other water authorities over several years and is now being applied to several exciting circular economy applications.

The latest PYROCOTM trials and upcoming demonstration project represented significant progress for the water sector in terms of environmental sustainability and innovation - Lara Olsen, South East Water Managing Director

The RMIT team's latest research in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, published in  Renewable Energy , highlights that biochar derived from biosolids can effectively replace the expensive catalysts currently used to extract oil from biomass such as Willow Peppermint, a plant native to Australia.

This discovery shows that biochar from biosolids, produced using advanced pyrolysis technology such as PYROCOTM, offers a sustainable way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by replacing high-emission products.

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Taxonomy

• Oil Water Separation
• Energy
• Produced Water From Oil & Gas Industry
• circular economy
• Water from Air
• Water from Urine
• Australia