BiocageTM sludge thickening – operational experience from two water companies: PRESENTATION ONLY
Thomas, P., Crouch, J., Field, A., Afeco, UK
(free)
The sludge produced at the majority of wastewater treatment works is not treated on site, and is transported to sludge treatment centres for further processing. Tankering of sludge therefore represents a significant operational cost to water companies as well as producing CO2, hence anything which can be done to reduce the volumes of sludge tankered can bring large benefits.
Bio-cage™ is a simple, low cost physical dewatering device that is installed into existing sludge holding tanks to enhance the separation of liquids from solids without the need for power or chemicals, making it ideally suited for smaller, remote sites where traditional sludge thickening options can be cost prohibitive. Bio-cage™ produces thickened sludge, increasing the dry solids content, which means fewer tanker movements to haul sludge to sludge treatment centres. The average payback over all installations to date is less than two years.
This paper presents further operational experience from the Bio-cage™ #1 at Southern Water and initial results from Anglian Water, as well as the introduction of the Bio-cage™ #2, a standalone sludge dewatering system which has been developed to optimise sludge dewatering for a greater throughput at larger sites.
