Development of an advanced sewage sludge incinerator, “ turbocharged fluidized bed incinerator ”

Abstract

Annual production of sewage sludge in Japan has increased, and most of the sewage sludge is incinerated. With conventional sewage sludge incinerators, a large amount of energy is needed for operation. Additionally, the emissions of greenhouse gas N2O are expected to be high, because sludge contains a high concentration of nitrogen. In this R&D, an advanced sewage sludge incinerator "turbocharged fluidized bed incinerator," which can achieve not only energy savings but also a low environmental impact, was proposed in collaboration with a public research institute and a company. This new system consists of a pressurized fluidized bed combustor coupled with a turbocharger. The R&D to achieve practical use of the proposed system is primarily explained in this paper.