Sewage sludge: pollutant and raw material source at the same time

Sewage sludge mono-incineration for recycling phosphorus – Thermal sewage sludge utilization as the basis for recycling the vital resource phosphorus

Sewage sludge is the waste of wastewater treatment in which pollutants are concentrated. In addition to pollutants, they also filter phosphorus from wastewater. An oversupply of phosphates leads to the eutrophication of streams, rivers and lakes and ultimately to the death of water bodies. The fact that phosphorus is filtered out during wastewater treatment because of its serious consequences for the aquatic ecosystem in turn makes sewage sludge an important source of raw materials. It is this ambivalence of pollutant and raw material source that has led to thinking about alternative disposal methods. One such is sewage sludge mono-incineration. (Article in German language)

• authors: Jan Kirchhof, Head of Sales, Glatt Ingenieurtechnik and Andreas Dous, Head of Sewage Sludge Utilization and Residuals, EEW Energy from Waste
• originally published in the magazine CITplus, issue 7-8/2023, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA