Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://read.utilityweek.co.uk/i/374677
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | SEPTEMBER 2014 | 15 Gold medal performance: the Stratford Regional Waste Recycling site is a stone's throw from the Olympic park (below). The system is designed to digest organic waste almost entirely. B io-thermic digestion is a technolo- gy with the potential to transform the way municipal water treat- ment works handle sewage sludge. This is no mean feat considering that for wa- ter utilities everywhere, the problem of sewage sludge and organic materials in wastewater has been a growing concern for years. The regulators are cracking the whip, while volume continues to increase, putting those facing the chal- lenge in a tricky spot. Numerous solutions have been tried. Spreading over the land leads to concerns about contamination from heavy metals and pathogens, while in- cineration is generally uneconomic due to high haulage costs. Composting is slow and typically unable to deal with the required volumes. Even anaerobic digestion (AD) is sluggish in relative terms – the residual waste is also high as a percentage of what goes in. As a result, landfill has remained the only viable option, but landfill taxes and transport costs have le‚ the indus- try gasping for a new, cost effective and environmentally-friendly solution. With this in mind, the latest incarna- tion of Advetec's UK-manufactured bio- thermic digester (BTD), which has been eight years in development, is attracting widespread interest. Indeed, the first industrial scale unit has recently been installed at the Stratford, East London site of Regional Waste Recycling (RWR). The Advetec solution is designed to digest organic waste almost entirely, Bio-thermic digestion Is this the end of liquid waste? Project focus ● BTD reduces 96% of sewage sludge by volume ● Remaining residue is clean water and dry powder ● Typical ROI in less than two years STEED WEBZELL FREELANCE TECHNOLOGY WRITER ● Reduce the costs associated with traditional disposal methods for organic waste ● Diminish the need to send organic waste to landfill ● Enhance corporate green image by advancing towards 100% recycling • Drivers