The use of biogas resulted from the wastewater treatment - at Focsani wastewater treatment plant
About this good practice
Wastewater treatment has become an important aspect in achieving the much-needed ecological balance between anthropogenic activities and the environment.
Focsani Public Utilities Company is constantly preoccupied with achieving this balance and one way is to closely monitor the energy efficiency of its Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In order to overcome one of the shortages emerging from the wastewater treatment process, we turned our attention to eliminating or diminishing the sludge issue. Thus, in the framework of encouraging the use of Renewable Energy Sources, we converted the sludge resulting from the wastewater treatment process into a valuable resource, especially as this product entailed storage difficulties.
Starting with October 2009, under the ISPA Program (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession), we’ve implemented the means to transform the sludge into biogas, through anaerobic fermentation. This resulted biogas is used to fuel two internal combustion engines, each of them engaging an electrical power generator. Therefore, we recover approximately 50% of the power consumption used within the Treatment Plant.
In order to be more sustainable and the engines to operate properly, the biogas is biologically purified by reducing the content of hydrogen sulfide (sulfhidric acid) within the desulphurization system, consequently obtaining a less corrosive resource.
Resources needed
The financial resources needed to sustain the well-functioning of this activity reach the amount of 14.400 Eur per year, while only 9 employees are involved in the process of transforming sludge into biogas.
Evidence of success
Evidence for demonstrating the success of this good practice is the electrical energy resulted from the process described above and registered by the National Electricity Company.
Potential for learning or transfer
The Public Utilities Company has constantly been preoccupied to operate using the latest technologies that lead to reduced exploitation costs and high efficiency, helping us to maintain reasonable prices for our clients and to cover our expenses, while being able to ensure a good quality treated water that is discharged into nature, in compliance with the European legislation.
Our Wastewater Treatment Plant is a reference for other companies in the business, due to its unique technologies. We must emphasize first the drying sludge system utilized in greenhouses, which minimizes the consumption of electricity as it uses solar energy in the process and second the extraction of sulfur from biogas with biological methods.
All these led to a series of working visits carried out for a significant number of water companies from Romania and abroad, interested in discovering the methods we implemented and continue to use for running in good conditions the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Further information
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Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.