Gas producing bugs will turn sludge green
A GREEN energy project that will cut Northumbrian Water’s annual energy costs by millions of pounds is on target for completion.
The £33m project is under way at the company’s Bran Sands treatment works at Teesport to convert sludge, the material left after sewage has been treated, into energy.
The project will create enough power to make the treatment process self-sufficient with the 4MW excess meeting half of the Bran Sands site’s entire energy needs.
Overall the investment on Teesside will cut the company’s £40m energy bill by around 10%.
Aker Solutions of Stockton is carrying out the contract to design, construct, install and commission the new facility.
Vince Lee, Aker Solutions’ project manager for the Bran Sands scheme, said: “Overall the project is now 90% complete and we’re on track to deliver all project requirements by summer 2009.
“All the equipment is on site and we’re ready to start commissioning.”
The project will use the emerging new technology of thermal hydrolysis advanced digestion, putting Northumbrian Water at the forefront of its industry. Raw sludge is loaded into stainless steel vessels where steam is injected and the sludge is held at high temperature and high pressure to kill bacteria. This is then cooled and fed into tanks for methane-producing bacteria to digest.
The methane given off by the bugs is collected and then used to fuel gas engines, which provide a renewable source of energy.
Donna Rawlinson, project manager for Northumbrian Water, added: “We’re planning to start process commissioning and having Northumbrian Water sludge treated by the new plant within the next couple of months.”
She added: “It’s the most significant energy saving project Northumbrian Water is currently investing in - furthermore we are now also considering similar projects at other key sites for the future.”
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