Located in Bulgaria, the project is both a methane emissions reduction and energy production project.Methane produced is captured in common methane tanks serving as a buffer and then supplied to the newly installed CHP gas engines for electricity and heat production.
This transformation has a major effect on the environment by dramatically reducing the existing methane gas emissions at the plant while also reducing the volume of sludge (to as much as 50%) that needs to be transported;
The project's overall objective is to provide an environmentally friendly sludge treatment process reducing methane and carbon dioxide emissions that under a business-as-usual scenario –would have continued.
Other objectives are:
• Replace the traditional sludge drying beds and landfill options with mesophilic digestion of all primary and secondary sludge followed by mechanical dewatering in order to reduce GHG emissions;
• Effectively mitigate problems from the existing treatment of sludge and sludge liquors through the introduction of digestion;
• Production of fertilizer by mechanical dewatering of the digested stabilized sludge;
• Production of electricity from the utilization of the biogas in CHP gas engines thereby reducing GHG emissions from electricity production by the grid.
The project delivers the following key results:
• All primary and secondary sludge thickened and digested as per EU recommendations and guidelines;
• All biogas produced within the digestion process used for power and heat generation via CHP gas engines thus reducing on-site electricity purchases from the national grid;
• Reduction in on-site fossil fuel usage as all site-heating requirements will be met by the CHP gas engines;
• All sludge is stabilized and pathogen-free.
Long term strategic reductions of GHG emissions include:
• Reduction in open release of CH4 from open anaerobic sludge tanks and drying beds;
• Reduction in open release of CH4 from landfill disposal site;
• Reduction in CO2 emissions due to replacement of electricity production from fossil fuels;
• Reduction in CO2 emissions due to replacement of heat generation from fossil fuels.
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