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Sludge processing can also help recover degraded soils
The project is a Waste Treatment Unit (UTR) and will be able to transform the sludge resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage into energy through an innovative and sustainable technology. The sludge is usually disposed of in a landfill, in a substance that can be treated and reused as a biofuel gas. or in a type of charcoal, called biochar, which can be used in agriculture, to recover degraded soils and to sequester carbon.
The Retransformar Project was received by the Sewage Treatment Station (ETE), find out how it works
The treatment unit will be able to treat all the sludge produced in the ETE. This represents about 2 tons per day, and the project will last for 3 years. The equipment used in the transformation uses 'slow rotating drum pyrolysis', that is, a process of thermochemical decomposition of matter. Then, the gas produced is filtered and sent to burners and for power generation. A portion of the gas returns to feed the process and, therefore, no polluting or toxic gases are produced.
Project tests are carried out in partnership with the Fluminense Federal University (UFF)
According to the article O Dia, tests of the sludge treatment project by 'slow pyrolysis in a rotating drum' take place at the Prolagos operating unit, financed by Águas do Rio and the State Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation, in partnership with Agenersa, Fluminense Federal University (UFF ) and Arraial do Cabo City Hall.
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According to Rodolfo Cardoso, PhD in Production Engineering at the Fluminense Federal University and responsible for the project, “the tests that will be carried out will produce innovative results in the country. We will analyze which are the best ways to reuse sludge and which ones will have the best cost-benefit ratio, impacting not only sanitation companies but also other industries. We will also study ways to increase the plant's capacity to serve even larger treatment plants. Through software, we will create digital twins of the unit and carry out tests simulating the expansion of productivity”.
