The objective of the SINTRAN project was to prepare a feasibility study for the optimization, certification and EU-wide commercialization of BIOFIVE technology and device. With the BIOFIVE technology and device it is possible to safely transform humid organic waste (such as sewage sludge) into green energy (electricity) by combustion while extracting valuable materials from the remainder ash, like phosphate.
Sewage sludge and other residual waste materials need to be decontaminated and disposed of. Current methods include landfilling or collection in a storage facility. These methods have their drawbacks, which have only become apparent recently. Sewage sludge is an organic waste that poses certain risks and can be harmful to both humans and animals. It contains pathogens (bacteria, mold), poisonous inorganic materials, pharmaceutical waste, and other residual waste materials, as well as heavy metals such as: Hg, Pb, Cd, Co, etc. Through agricultural spreading of sewage sludge wide variety of problematic and hazardous materials can enter and accumulate within soil, enter into the natural lifecycle and harm the living environment.
The combustion tests for BIOFIVE proved the following:
Through mono-incineration of sewage sludge the equipment is able to decontaminate and dispose of harmful and dangerous organic waste (and its mixture) where:
- the dry matter content exceeds 51%;
- where the calorific value applied to the entire mass exceed 6M/kg; and where
- the ratio of ash is less than 30%.
Inspection of the remaining ash following decontamination proved that it contained many elements that are beneficial to plants, such as P,K,Ca, and the minerals Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, while the amount of heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb, Co, Mo) was below the limits prescribed for dry matter compost fertilizer for agriculture spreading. This shows that the developed equipment is widely suitable for the disposal of hazardous organic waste while recovering energy in the process. On the other hand, the ash contains valuable materials, which can be utilized for agricultural or other uses. Particularly noteworthy is phosphorous. Tests show phosphorous content in the ash exceeds 15% during the mono-incineration of sewage sludge.
