Proposed EU legislation to force changes in sewage sludge disposal: A case study

• Published in: Frontiers of chemical science and engineering Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 660 - 669
• Main Authors: Turek, Vojtěch, Kilkovský, Bohuslav, Jegla, Zdeněk, Stehlík, Petr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Higher Education Press 01-12-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Case studies; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Combustion; Economic analysis; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Legislation; Modular units; Nanotechnology; Pyrolysis; Research Article; Sewage sludge; Sludge; Sludge disposal; Waste disposal; Wastewater treatment; Water treatment; pyrolysis; drying; combustion; sewage sludge
• ISSN: 2095-0179; 2095-0187
• DOI: 10.1007/s11705-018-1773-0

The consequences of changes planned in the European Union legislation relevant to the disposal of sewage sludges are discussed. A specific municipal waste water treatment plant is analyzed in terms of drying and subsequent combustion or pyrolysis of the produced stabilized sludge, and the respective net energy balances are carried out. A simplified economic analysis of the two disposal options is presented, which suggest that combustion of the sludge would be economically infeasible while pyrolysis of the sludge in a modular, self-sufficient container unit can bring a small financial benefit due to the selling of the produced phosphorus-rich biochar.