SLUDGE2ENERGY - Waste prevention through sewage sludge reuse for efficient energy generation at waste water treatment sites LIFE06 ENV/D/000460

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1 SLUDGE2ENERGY - Waste prevention through sewage sludge reuse for efficient energy generation at waste water treatment sites LIFE06 ENV/D/ Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data Read more Contact details: Project Manager: Robert FREYGANG Tel: Fax: fyr@huber.de Project description: Background The treatment and disposal of sludge contaminated by heavy metals, microorganisms and several organic compounds is an increasing problem. Its disposal on farm land creates a potential risk for human health and the environment. However, alternative solutions, such as thermal treatment, are becoming more important in Europe. In Germany, already around half of all municipal sludge is thermally treated, mainly in large centralised incineration or co-incineration plants such as cement kilns and coal-fired power plants. Both disposal methods, however, have ecological and economical drawbacks. As sludge transportation routes are frequently very long, the sludge is either dewatered thus 70-75% water is transported or dried prior to transport (normally by using fossil fuels). Objectives The aim of the SLUDGE2ENERGY project was to demonstrate the decentralised reuse of sewage sludge in an efficient small-scale heat and power generation plant on the premises of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The innovative sludge processing technique was intended for market introduction. The energy self-sufficient plant would reduce the amount of sewage sludge for disposal to 1/8 of the dewatered sludge.

2 Amounts of sludge are increasing and disposal routes are limited, but this technique offers an environmentally sound alternative for sludge management. The residues of the process are an ideal resource for phosphorous recycling. Results The project created the SLUDGE2ENERGY system, a decentralised combination of sewage sludge drying followed by mono-incineration and power generation by means of a gas turbine. The main system components are a belt dryer, a micro gas turbine and a grate stoker furnace for dried sludge. The project sewage sludge treatment system that was developed allows sludge to be reused directly at the point of origin, i.e. on the premises of the WWTP. Transport is thus avoided and the energy content of the sludge can efficiently be used on a local scale, e.g. for drying. In addition useful heat is available from the dryer by recovering the heat from condensation. The project demonstrated a decentralised solution, which is both technically feasible and economically viable. The plant has shown that the concept is suitable for WWTPs throughout Europe with a size of greater than PE (population equivalent). The theoretical potential for Germany is about 170 plants. The plant is designed for an annual processing capacity of up to tonnes of dry substance and a maximum electric capacity of 100 kwe. During its implementation, however, the project suffered two major setbacks: legal and political barriers were encountered to implementing the project at the Straubing wastewater treatment plant, and unexpected technical problems occurred in the construction of the designed system. But close co-operation with all team members resulted in the development of appropriate solutions. Thus, despite a substantial delay, the project was closed successfully following promising results of the first test operations performed in September Long-term plant operation was scheduled to begin early The contractual agreement between the project beneficiary, Huber and the municipality of Straubing includes a half-year period of additional test runs followed by a half-year monitoring phase to be performed by Huber. Support for the idea that energy self-sufficient sewage sludge incineration can be achieved at Straubing was a result of the project. A substantial approach to saving energy is the energetic optimisation of the belt dryer and best possible utilisation of the incineration exhaust heat. The long-term social benefits are related to the safe use of sludge in terms of health and the prevention of unpredictable risks linked to the agricultural use. The method was also shown to be economically viable thanks to stable disposal costs. Co-firing additional municipal biomass residues (such as screenings, grass clipping, bush and tree cuttings, composting residues) also reduces costs. Moreover, the project results can be used to manufacture modular units for implementing the concept in other European WWTPs without any additional development costs. The transfer of the validated concept to other application fields e.g. small-scale biomass fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants will enhance the exploitation of renewable energy sources and thus contribute to

3 the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in line with climate change commitments. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section). Environmental issues addressed: Themes Energy - Supply Water - Waste water treatment Energy - Savings Keywords use of waste as energy source waste water treatment sewage sludge Target EU Legislation Water Directive 91/271 - Urban waste water treatment ( ) Waste Directive 1999/31 - Landfill of waste ( ) Natura 2000 sites Not applicable Beneficiaries: Coordinator Type of organisation Description Huber SE International enterprise Huber SE, a private company, owns worldwide enterprises that supply innovative solutions in the field of wastewater treatment and sludge processing technologies. The associated beneficiary, Turbec R&D AB, Sweden, was a technical partner and was responsible for the

4 Partners optimisation of the turbine technique. The associated beneficiary ATZ is a research institution and was responsible for the up-scaling and detailed engineering of the process. Turbec R&D AB, Sweden ATZ Entwicklungszentrum, Germany Administrative data: Project reference LIFE06 ENV/D/ Duration 01-OCT-2006 to 30-SEP Total budget 3,812, EU contribution 768, Project location Bayern(Deutschland) Read more: Title: "Lokalna utylizacja osadów ściekowych do produkcji energii cieplnej i elektrycznej"(pl)(1.043 KB) Author: Rudolf Bogner Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 15 Title: "Decentralised Sewage Sludge Utilisation for Production of Thermal and Electric Energy" (849 KB) Editor: HUBER Technology No of pages: 14 Title: "Dezentrale Klärschlammverwertung zur Erzeugung von thermischer und elektrischer Energie" (DE)(914 KB) Author: Rudolf Bogner Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 15 Title: "Dezentrale Klärschlammverwertungsanlage zur Erzeugung von thermischer und elektrischer Energie" (DE)(183 KB) Author: R.Bogner, M. Faulstich, M. Mocker et al. Editor: Hans Huber AG, ATZ Entwicklungszentrum No of pages: 10 Title: "Decentralized sludge incineration with generation of power and heat" (166 KB) Author: Rudolf Bogner Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 6

5 Title: "sludge2energy Sewage Sludge Utilisation: Innovative concept of decentralised sludge utilisation by generation and use of thermal and electrical energy" (1.288 KB) Year: 2008 Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 4 Title: "Fortschritt lebt von Visionen" (DE) (639 KB) No of pages: 2 Title: "Sludg2energy lokalna utylizacja osadów ściekowych instalacja do produkcji energii cieplnej i elektrycznej" (PL) (181 KB) Author: R.Bogner, M. Faulstich, M. Mocker et al. Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 8 Title: "Dezentrale Klärschlammverwertung zur Erzeugung von therm. und elektr. Energie"(DE)(167 KB) Author: Rudolf Bogner Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 6 Project web site Project's website (DE/EN/FR/PL) Publication: Article-Paper Title: "Decentralised sewage sludge utilisation" (225 KB) Author: M. Mocker, P. Quicker, M. Faulstich, et al. Editor: Hans Huber AG No of pages: 5 Publication: Layman report Title: Layman report Year: 2010 Editor: HUBER No of pages: 6 Publication: Technical report Title: Project's Final technical report Year: 2011 No of pages: 27 Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data Read more