US-based Aries Clean Energy has broken ground on biosolids-only gasification facility, with a processing capacity of 430 tonnes, in New Jersey, US.
The facility, which will process biosolids into clean renewable energy, will be built within the Linden Roselle Sewerage Authority (LRSA) complex, about 32.1km away from Manhattan.
During the construction phase, the project is expected to provide 60 jobs and 16 long-term and skilled jobs for the operations of the plant.
Aries facility will use fluidised bed gasification system
The new facility will use fluidised bed gasification system that was designed specifically to process biosolids.
Aries Clean Energy CEO Gregory Bafalis said: “This Aries system eliminates the need for environmentally harmful landfilling or incineration of biosolids, while producing beneficial renewable energy and biochar.
“We believe this truly is a beneficial and disruptive technology that will revolutionize the wastewater treatment industry and establish itself as the best available control technology for biosolids disposal and serve as a model for others.”
The system is expected to reduce the volume of biosolids from 430 tonnes per day to 22 tonnes of biochar, which can be used as a substitute for fly ash in concrete.
The firm said that the renewable energy generated from the system will be recovered and used within the system, by avoiding fossil fuels during normal operations.
A further reduction in greenhouse gases from the facility will come from a decrease in trucking miles associated with conventional disposal methods and elimination of methane generated from land application of biosolids.
LRSA executive director David Brown said: “This marks the beginning of a collaboration that will set new standards of clean and green efforts in the wastewater industry.
“The opening of this gasification plant here will provide additional revenue, reductions in operation and maintenance costs, and give our ratepayers an economic benefit that will allow the Authority and the City to stabilize our budgets.”
On 15 July 2019, Aries announced that it has secured all approvals needed to build the biosolids-only gasification facility, in New Jersey, US.
