Energy recovery solution for waste water with payback less than 1 year

Summary

Treating wastewater in Australia produces three million tons of sludge which must be treated and disposed of. The process is responsible for 50% of the total operating costs of wastewater treatment plants. A researcher from the University of Technology Sydney has developed a new treatment technology that would not only reduce the amount of waste by a third but also recover energy from the sludge itself. The end product would also be safer biosolids for fertilizer than currently being produced. Huan Liu estimates that if the technology were applied to wastewater treatment plant in NSW alone, it would save taxpayers an estimated $5 million a year.

The estimated payback time would be less than one year, while the benefits for plants and society will be lasting. She estimates that the technology is being commercialized and is being used by the Australian Water Industry.