“Advanced forms of sewage sludge management in a Lombardy innovative hub" is the title of the circular economy project born within the round tables of the Lombardy Cluster for Energy and the Environment and is one of the winners of the "Call Hub Research and Innovation", financed by the Lombardy Region, ranked 4th in the sustainability sector out of 78 projects presented, with a technical score of 95/100.
The project was presented by A2A Ambiente, leader of the partnership with BrianzAcque, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Lariana Depur, MM and Tcr Tecora.
During the 30 months of the project, the partners will assess the health and environmental impact of alternative strategies for the valorisation of sewage sludge to identify the most advantageous one (or combination) in terms of sustainability, considering the economic and regulatory aspects as well.
A2A Ambiente will test, at some of its plants, the optimisation of energy recovery in co-combustion with other non-recyclable waste and in mono-combustion also aimed at the possibility of extracting and recovering phosphorous, an essential nutrient, from the sludge combustion ash. The Mario Negri Institute, which has the role of scientific research body in the partnership, will be in charge of ensuring the development/application of an integrated methodology for health and environmental impact assessment. LARIANA DEPUR will contribute to the development of an innovative approach for the assessment of sludge quality for agronomic scopes. MM Spa, manager of the Milan Water Service, will install an experimental plant for the mono-combustion of biological sludge from urban wastewater treatment and a carbonisation plant for the transformation of sludge into bio-carbon for combustion. TCR Tecora, will develop technology for the health and environmental impact assessment through combined air quality monitoring systems.
BrianzAcque will develop Europe's first bio-drying plant for sewage sludge. The facility will be able to dry sewage cycle residues using heat generated by bacterial proliferation to obtain material suitable for a subsequent energy recovery and the recovery of phosphorous, a precious resource that is running out. Four desiccators will be built at the Vimercate purification plant, each capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of sewage sludge per year.
The Chairman and CEO of BrianzAcque, Enrico Boerci: “I am delighted with this experimental and research activity and I am grateful to the Lombardy Region for providing us with an extraordinary opportunity. The company will make its know-how and innovative capacity available to contribute to assessing the transformation of sludge into energy through a completely natural process with an integrated approach. A correct disposal combined with the reuse of sludge would bring considerable environmental and economic benefits with a reduction in purification costs that would translate into a lighter bill for citizens in Brianza that already enjoy one of the lowest rates in Italy”.
