The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) is starting to replace four multiple hearth incinerators (MHIs) at its Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center (WWTC), located in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio (Cleveland Metropolitan Area) with three new fluidized bed incinerators (FBIs). The plan is to replace the 46 year old MHIs with 3-100 dtpd capacity FBIs. Design work for this project, which started in 2006,did not include power generation with energy recovered from the incinerators. In August of 2008, NEORSD leadership determined that the facility should include energy recovery to produce green electrical power form the biosolids processed, at the recommendation of an independent Validation Panel. This directive was issued to fulfill the NEORSD's mission of protecting the environment and providing cost effective wastewater treatment for their stakeholders.The Validation Panel consisted seven independent biosolids management expert that assessed the NEORSD's proposed long-term biosolids handling program for Southerly, including a fresh look at the incineration project as well as other options. The project was already in preliminary design for the shutdown of the plant's thermal conditioning system and construction of new dewatering and incineration processes. The panel confirmed the NEORSD's plan for biosolids handling, and recommended the integration of the green power facilities into the overall design.With this change, the Southerly Renewable Energy Project was modified to include waste heat boilers (WHBs) to produce steam that would be used to produce electricity using a steam turbine generator. This modified work included auxiliary facilities including water treatment, condensate handling, and controls. This paper summarizes the challenges, benefits, and "lessons learned" in implementing the green power features of the Southerly Renewable Energy Project.
Solids minimization is a key consideration in the operation and cost of a treatment system, the potential disposal options for the final solids, and the sustainability of the process. Historically, solids minimization has been accomplished using wet processes that improve the digestibility. However, thermal process, including well established technologies such as incineration or heat drying, as well as some “emerging” technologies such as gasification or sludge-to-fuel options, are gaining interest. Not only do these processes reduce the total volume of material requiring disposal or reuse, but some of the processes can take advantage of the energy inherent in the solids and are being considered as net energy producers. The conclusions show substantial reduction of solids for further reuse or disposal is possible with thermal processing
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