Sludge as a flexible source of energy - a new R&D project
EnviroChemie is a partner in the new ESiTI research project. ESiTI is a joint research project co-ordinated by the Wastewater Technology Department, Institute IWAR of the TU Darmstadt, within the framework of the ERWAS initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. The project runs from 01/05/2014 – 30/04/2017.
Can sludge in a sewage treatment plant be used to generate and distribute energy so that it is available in a flexible manner, on demand? Scientists at the TU Darmstadt, in cooperation with external partner companies, have recently started to research this within the ESiTI joint research project funded by the German Federal Government. As part of this, they are also focusing on the optimisation of existing processes.
Flexibilisation is a key requirement of the 'ESiTI' project. As of now, sludge digestion in sewage treatment plants takes place under almost constant conditions, and therefore produces an almost constant amount of biogas.
The partners involved in the 'ESiTI' project are working to generate precisely enough energy as is needed at a particular time. 'In an ideal scenario, both can be adjusted as required', explains Dr. Christian Schaum, responsible for 'ESiTI' together with Professor Peter Cornel of TU Darmstadt. To achieve this, work is being carried out on an optimised sludge digestion process, among other tasks. This sludge treatment is intended to become the central component of a flexible energy system - for example, by increasing the processing speed through changes in reaction conditions or being able to control the timing of the process so well that it acts as a buffer in energy production. In this way, a sewage treatment plant can even become an energy store.
EnviroChemie is working on the application and optimization of high load digestion within the project, with the aim of developing an intelligent and flexible energy concept.
Apart from intermittent loading and temperature changes, the addition of industrial co-substrates is a particular focus of the research, which is carried out with the help of a specially designed and constructed high load digestion system on a pilot scale. The objective is to achieve short-term increased energy yields through the integration and implementation of targeted selected industrial residual substances and excess sludge as co-substrates, making it possible to respond to requests from the local power grid more flexibly than conventional systems.
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