10/11/2017 Urban China turns sewage into power - The Source

International Water Association IWA-network.org IWA Connect IWA Publishing

Urban China turns sewage into power

By Nick Michell - September 29, 2017

Forthefirsttwomonths,theXiangyangplantburnedfourtonnesofcoalperday,buthassincebeenrunningonitsownselfgeneratedcleanenergy

WhyAsiancitiesareadoptingandscalingsludgetoenergysystems.ByAditiSahay

EachyearChinascitiesmustabsorb10millionpeople,whoexcreteanextra1.5millionkilogrammesoffaecalmatterandanadditional3
millionlitresofurine.Asurbanitesflushawaytheirbiologicalwaste,requiringtreatmentofthreetimesmorewastewaterin2016(54.2
billionm3)thanin2007,thecountrys4,000urbanwastewaterplantsstruggletocopewiththepressure.

Manyfalter.Thecitiesoftenlackbudgets,time,data,andskilledstafftoproperlytreathumanwaste.Buteventhoseplantsthatdoget
leftwithlargevolumesofamessybyproduct:40milliontonnesofslurry,atoxiccocktailknownassludge.

Thatamountmarkeda16percentincreaseinsludgeoverthepreviousyear,puttingChinasnearbyaquifers,foodandsoilincreasinglyat
riskandposinganurbanhealththreatonaparwithsmog.

Beijingsleadersdecreedcleaningitup.Butthatseasiersaidthandone.Sludgetreatmentisbothexpensiveandenergyintensive,
costingplantsUS$3681pertonnewhiledevouringathirdofmunicipalpower.

Forallthesereasons,aTsinghuaUniversitystudyfoundthatlessthan20percentofsludgeevengetsproperlytreated.Mostisillegally
dumped,putinlandfills,burnt,orspreadoutasheavymetalandpesticideladenfertiliser,whereuponitleachesintowaterbodies.

Butthecombinationofmandates,technologytransfers,andeconomicincentivesischangingallthis,asahandfulofpioneeringurban
treatmentplantsconverttheirtoxicliabilityintoacleanasset:biofuel.

Dumpingthesludgewasamuchcheaperwayofdealingwithitthantreating,saysZhongLijin,anexpertattheBeijingofficeofthe
WorldResourcesInstitute(WRI),aglobalresearchorganisationheadquarteredinWashingtonDC.ButnowChinaisinatransitional
stageofdevelopment,andneedstothinkofsustainablesludgetreatmentmethods.

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10/11/2017 Urban China turns sewage into power - The Source
Convertingsludgeintocleanenergystartsbybreakingdowntheslurry.Thermalhydrolysiscombinesthehighpressureboilingofwaste
orsludgewithrapiddecompression.Anaerobicdigestionharnessesmicroorganismstobreakdownbiodegradablematerialintheabsence
ofoxygen.

Muchoftheendproductcanwithpoliticalwill,toolsandincentivesberecapturedasagas,liquidorsolidfuel.Thesecleanbiofuelscan
beusedtogenerateelectricitytoruntheplantitself,useddirectlyasfueltoproduceheatforoperatingthesystemorbefurther
processedintotransportfuels.Anothersterilebyproductoftreatment,biochar,canbeusedasasoilenhancementtogrowtreeson
landfillsitesthathelplowertemperatures,captureatmosphericcarbon,andimproveairquality.

Suchanapproachmaynotworkeverywhere.ButinChinasHubeiprovince,thecityofXiangyangexemplifiesthecombinedpushpullto
developcleaninfrastructurewithpublicandprivateinvestment,asthatcityhaspioneeredinnovativesludgetreatmentsolutions.

TheChinesegovernmentrequiresthateachcityshouldsolvetheproblemofsludgepollutioninthenextfewyears,saysYueZhang,
formerDirectorGeneraloftheUrbanWaterManagementOfficeattheChineseMinistryofHousingandUrbanRuralDevelopment.Thisis
apoliticalrequirementthathasbeenincorporatedintotheassessmentindexoflocalofficials.

Successdidntemergeovernight,oroutofnowhere.Inthesummerof2015,ZhangwaspartofaChinesedelegationthatvisitedBlue
Plains,inWashingtonDCtotourtheworldslargestadvancedwastewaterplant.Thetourshowedhowlargescalesludgetreatmentwas
notonlytechnicallyplausible,butmadeeconomicsense.ThedelegationsnewunderstandinghelpedBeijingmakefasterinvestment
decisionsandacceleratedconstructionofotherplantsaroundChina.

WegottoknowBluePlainslongtermresearchanddemonstrationprocess,andtheirfinalchoice,saysZhang.Also,sinceitwas
basedonthegreen,circular,lowcarboneconomy,thiswaslikelytobeasustainableoption.

Theresaconsiderableenvironmentalupsideofasludgetoenergytreatmentplant.Recoveringnutrientsfromthesludgeslashes
downstreamemissionsthatmightgrowfromuntreatedeffluentinwaterbodies.Andthenaturalbiogascanbecompressedandusedas
fuel(CNG)reducingcarbonemissionsby140,000tonnes.Forthefirsttwomonths,theXiangyangplantburnedfourtonnesofcoalper
day,buthassincebeenrunningonitsownselfgeneratedcleanenergy.

ToaffluentEuropeanandNorthAmericancities,sludgetoenergymaynotfeelthatnew.ButwhatmakesXiangyangagamechangeris
thatitshowshow,now,evenboomingcitiesinthedevelopingworldcanadaptthetechnology,andscaleupgainstomeetclimate
mitigationtargets.

ArecentWorldResourcesInstitute(WRI)studyprojectsthatifallthesludgeandkitchenwasteproducedinChinesecitiesistreatedbya
wastetoenergyapproach,6.6billionm3ofmethanecouldbeproduced,whichisequalto9percentofChinastotalmethaneemissions
in2012.Besidesmeetingtheenergydemandoftheprojectsoperation,theremainingmethanecouldbeusedtosubstitute4.2millionm3
ofgasolineforvehicleuse.Chinas13thFiveYearPlan(20162020)hasthegoalofreducingcoalconsumptionfrom62to58percentby
2020,andsettingupplantswillhelpachievethistarget.

Beijinghasmandatedthat90percentofurbansludgemustbetoxicfreeby2020.Butregulationsalonedidnttipthescalesfor
Xiangyangssuccesseconomicforcesdid.Thisprojectcanbeduplicatedandpromotedinotherareas,saysJingLiu,aprivateinvestor
whobackedtheproject.Thereasonsforthisarethecurrentadvocacyofthecirculareconomyandthefactthatmanybanksarewilling
toprovidesupportforthistypeofproject.Financingforthesludgetoenergyprojectisnotverydifficult.

Forallitsbenefits,obstaclesremain.Atthepolicylevel,itremainsunclearwhatistobedonewiththerestofthetreatedsludge.We
haveadoptedadvancedsludgetreatmenttechnology,andthetreatedsludgeisofgoodqualityandcanbereused,saysBaiYuofthe
BeijingDrainageGroup,astateownedcompanythatusessimilartechnologytotreatsludgearoundtheBeijingurbanarea.However,
nationalpolicyisnotveryclear,whichmakesitdifficulttoreusethetreatedsludge.

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10/11/2017 Urban China turns sewage into power - The Source

ZhongLijin(left)anexpertattheWRIBeijingofficewithBetsyOtto(right),DirectorofWRIsGlobalWater
Program

Chineseofficials,worriedaboutthetoxiccontentoftreatedsludge,haveprohibiteditsuseonfarmland.Butfurthertreatmentcouldpay
foritself.Ifthenationalpolicybecomesmoresupportiveofthesludgetoenergyproject,addsBaiYu,theproductscanbepackaged
andsoldinthemarket,andmoreeconomicbenefitscanbegained.

Anotherchallengeiscultural.Traditionalengineeringanddesignengineersmustlearnhowtoretrofitexistingplantstooperateusing
thermalhydrolysistechnology.ButnewcoursesinChinaandIndiaarehelpingteamsunderstandhowtotreatsludgeinwaysthatreduce
emissions.

Internationalgroupspraisesludgetoenergytreatmentprocessesforcombiningenvironmental,urban,agricultural,economic,energy,
financeandclimatesectors,thushelpingadvanceseveralSDGgoalsatonce.

Whatisreallyappealingaboutthisprojectisthatitbringstogethermultipleelementsofinterest,explainsBetsyOtto,DirectorofWRIs
GlobalWaterProgram,includingwatermanagement,reductionofgreenhousegases,airpollutionandsolidwastemanagement.These
havegonebeyondtheclassicrealmofmanagingwaste,allowingwastewatertobecomeatrueresource.

Worldwide,theUNhasestimatedthevalueofhumanwasteconvertedtofuelatUS$9.5billion.Butthatsabstract,onpaper.Chinahas
takenthesparkfromWashingtonDCtoXiangyang,kindleditinothercitiesaroundChina,andshareditacrossborders.

Indiafacessimilarchallengeswithwaterresourcesandwastewatertreatment,andittoohasstartedlookingatthefeasibilityofsludge
toenergyprojects.TheQualcommFoundationhasexploredpolicygaps,hopingIndia,whichlagstwodecadesbehindinurbanisationand
wastewatermanagement,canlearnfromChinasexperiencestopreparefortheforthcomingsurgeinurbantoiletslurryandtheneedfor
bettersludgemanagement.

AstheoutputofAsiascitiesharnessesitsownwasteasaninputtofueltreatmentoperationsandgrowfood,sludgetoenergy
unlocksthepowerofthecirculareconomyforbillionswhoneeditmost.

Nick Michell

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