Maximizing Energy Recovery from Biosolids Processing

Wastewater, sludge and subsequent biosolids are large inherent energy sinks, and in most cases contain more energy than required to operate a treatment plant. This paper explores how this energy can be exploited to minimize plant demands. The use of anaerobic digestion was found to reduce energy demands by over a third,
and by 60% when combined with enhanced primary treatment. Energy neutrality was potentially achievable by combining these processes with further energy recovery downstream via burning as
a cake. However, this study highlighted the poor energy extraction capability of anaerobic digestion when considered in a plant-wide envelope.

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