The challenge of sewage sludge disposal

We are focusing on efficiency and sustainability and creating a new disposal method for sewage sludge.

The sewage sludge mono-combustion plant planned at Gersthofen Industrial Park has three objectives: to protect the environment, increase disposal reliability and simultaneously produce energy and other resources.

The sewage sludge mono-combustion plant planned by MVV at Gersthofen Industrial Park is chiefly intended to dispose of sewage sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants in the region. At a later stage, it will also be possible to recover phosphorous from the residual ash.

If sewage sludge is spread on the soil as previously, then over time ever more pollutants accumulate there, such as heavy medals and non-degradable micro-plastics, as well as residues from medicines and household products. To address this, legislation will in future only permit low-pollutant sewage sludge to be used in agriculture. Moreover, sewage sludge may only be incinerated at coal-fired power plants for a limited transitional period.

View of the planned sewage sludge utilisation plant with the plant components
View of the planned sewage sludge utilisation plant from the outside

Our plant for the thermal treatment of sewage sludge will enable us to meet the legal requirements governing the environmentally compatible and resource-effective treatment of sewage sludge. The plant is designed for 85,000 tonnes of dewatered sewage sludge a year. This means that operators of municipal sewage treatment plants in the region can be assured of ongoing disposal reliability.

Using the latest technology, we eliminate the pollutants contained in the sewage sludge. The energy thereby produced is fed into the heat and power system at Gersthofen Industrial Park. In addition, the valuable resource of phosphorous, which is required, for example, to produce fertilisers, can be recovered from the residual ash.

The sewage sludge incineration plant will safely comply with the strict threshold values set out in the 17th German Federal Immission Control Ordinance (BImSchV).

FAQ

Would you like to know more about our sewage sludge recycling plant?

The following pages provide you with answers to a series of frequently asked questions. Please also feel free to call us or write to us. We would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Technical data
Incineration capacity:85,000 tonnes/year
Rated thermal input:10 megawatts
Firing type:Fluidised bed
Operating hours:8,000 hours/year
Phosphorous ash:7,500 tonnes/year

 

Contact

Ingrid Knöpfle
Head of marketing & communications
In case of emergencies
Information Hotline

+49 821 479 2101