Techno-Economic Analysis of Fluidized Bed Combustion of a Mixed Fuel from Sewage and Paper Mill Sludge

Abstract

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is one of the most important and critical issues of wastewater treatment plants. One option for sludge liquidation is the production of fuel in the form of pellets from mixed sewage and paper mill sludge. This study presents the results of the combustion of pelletized fuels, namely sewage and paper mill sludge, and their 2:1 and 4:1 blends in a fluidized bed combustor. The flue gas was analysed after reaching a steady state at bed temperatures of 700–800 °C. Commonly used flue gas cleaning is still necessary, especially for SO2; therefore, it is worth mentioning that the addition of paper mill sludge reduced the mercury concentration in the flue gas to limits acceptable in most EU countries. The analysis of ash after combustion showed that magnesium, potassium, calcium, chromium, copper, zinc, arsenic, and lead remained mostly in the ash after combustion, while all cadmium from all fuels used was transferred into the flue gas together with a substantial part of chlorine and mercury. The pellets containing both sewage and paper mill sludge can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative fuel for fluidised bed combustion. The levelized cost of this alternative fuel is at the same current price level as lignite.