New Sludge Treatment Plant for Lindum AS in Drammen, Norway

“Cambi’s process is based upon Thermal Hydrolysis (THP), and this is the key to securing a high production of biogas and a fertilizer of good quality. Cambi has development a compact solution for the THP which has a large international potential for treatment of sludge,”states Lillebø.

Cambi (Norway) has so far built 20 THP-plants worldwide with 5 new plants currently under construction. Several of these contracts were achieved in direct competition with large international companies within the environmental technology sector.

The plant in Drammen is designed to treat approx. 20,000 tons of sludge from municipalities in the Drammen region, together with some grease and septic. The biogas produced at the plant, will have an energy content of 16 GW per annum. The energy could be used for either cogeneration or as fuel in vehicles. The digested sludge containing both food substance and organic material is dewatered into a high-class pasteurized fertilizer for direct application to agricultural land.

The total contract cost is 80 million NOK, including civil work and process elements. ENOVA will support the project with 8 million NOK. The plant is scheduled to be finished in the second half of 2011.

Swedish Purac will be delivering the receiver unit as well as digester equipment. They are also responsible for post treatment of the digested sludge. Cambi will be delivering the main elements in the process as part of the patented thermal hydrolysis process (THP). The process involves pre-heating the sludge for a fixed period of time before the sterilized sludge is passed rapidly into the flash-tank resulting in cell destruction from the pressure drop. The sludge is then cooled before being fed into the digesters, where it is more easily digested due to cell destruction. The high temperature of the THP process eliminates all pathogens and the end product is a fertilizer suitable for use on agricultural land.