Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41700511›Full record

ArticleWater environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation2026

Harnessing Activated Sludge for the Treatment of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Wastewater: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Cyrus Li, Jiefu Wang, Meicen Liu, Yi Zheng, Sandeep Kumar, Isamu Umeda, Chandan Mahata, John Norton, Zhi-Wu Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Harnessing Activated Sludge for the Treatment of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Wastewater: A Proof-of-Concept Study.Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Cyrus LiDepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
Jiefu WangDepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
Meicen LiuDepartment of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.
Yi ZhengDepartment of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.
Sandeep KumarDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA.
Isamu UmedaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5587-2533
Chandan MahataDepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
John NortonOffice of Research and Innovation, Great Lakes Water Authority, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Zhi-Wu WangDepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3496-1884

Funding

National Science Foundation 2001568National Science Foundation 2234562
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is the leading technology in converting wet biomass into bioenergy, the treatment of its toxic-laden aqueous phase wastewater presents a major challenge on its path toward commercial viability. This study presents the first-ever assessment of sewage sludge-fed HTL wastewater (SS-HTLWW) treatment and toxic compound removal using municipal activated sludge (AS) by optimizing its cultivation condition. It was found that AS with optimized pretreatment can remove up to 91.2% of the soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) in SS-HTLWW, of which up to 82% can be attributed to biological mineralization and adsorption of sCOD by AS. Conventional bioprocess optimization techniques, including overliming, elevated temperatures, and nutrient supplementation, were found to raise the maximum rate of sCOD utilization (R

Indexed as

BiomassWastewaterWater PurificationAcidsHeterocyclic CompoundsMichiganPhenolsTemperatureAcidsHeterocyclic CompoundsPhenolsWastewaterdegradation potentialinhibitionoverlimingthermal treatmentwaste valorization

Identifiers

PMID41700511
PMCPMC12910532

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.