The biodrying concept: An innovative technology creating energy from sewage sludge

A full-scale biodrying installation was treating 150 kton (wet weight) of dewatered waste activated sludge per year. The waste was treated at thermophilic conditions (65–75 °C) in a 2-step forced aeration process reducing the total wet sludge weight by 73%. The final product had a high caloric value (7700–10,400 (kJ/kg)), allowing a combustion for energy generation in external facilities. The resulting product met the European microbial and heavy metal quality standards needed for an application as organic fertilizer. The facility used <0.5 MW of electricity and recovered 9.3 MW from biologically produced heat, which was internally used for the heating of office buildings. Produced ammonia, originating from the microbial conversion of organic matter, was recovered from the ventilated air in an acid gas scrubber as an ammonium sulphate solution 40% (w/w) (7.3 kton/year) and was sold as substitute for artificial fertilizers. The sustainability of this process is discussed relative to other sludge handling processes.