Amount awarded: £2,329,332
Led by: Yorkshire Water
Partners: Enertecgreen, Northern Ireland Water, Queens University Belfast, Scottish Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, The Carbon Trust, Uisce Éireann, United Utilities, Wessex Water
Our multi-partnership consortium, led by Yorkshire Water, identified Advanced Thermal Conversion (ATC) Gasification as an alternative approach to ‘Sludge to land’. This will allow us to prove the technical and economic viability of gasifying 100% sewage sludge and provide the water industry with the confidence to exploit the technology globally.
“We have identified innovative uses for sewage sludge. Converting it into gas, biochar and ash ‘stones’ opens up new, more sustainable and low carbon ways to reuse sewage sludge.
Once proven, the process will produce sustainable wastewater treatment media, construction materials and high-value products and generate heat and power.” – Dr Danielle Hankin, Innovation Programme Manager, Yorkshire Water
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Upgrades and modifications to the gasification plant are progressing well, focussing on upgrading and configuring the plant to be fully commissioned to perform the operational sludge testing program to be executed in Phase 2. Preparatory work commenced in August and has focused primarily on the Gasification unit with several significant upgrades to the core reactor, control system and emissions measurement and monitoring system being implemented. Work on the sludge reception and drying has commenced and has focused on sourcing providers of expert services to support the recommissioning and undertaking initial condition surveys. Discussions have been held with the Carbon Trust to agree the scope and costs for the development of a full carbon assessment model for the end-to-end process. We have also been in discussion with WSP who we intend to contract with to provide insightful reporting of project outcomes. Scottish Water have agreed to provide sludge for the commissioning and testing phases. A draft MoU has been issued to the 6 supporting Water Companies to cover their input to the project. The project is liaising with the CIP4 project to ensure that sampling and analysis aligns with the work being carried out as part of the CIP4 initiative.
For more information on Sewage Sludge Gasification, take a look at the following resources:
