HELSINKI, Finland - Finnish company Outotec has partnered with German firm Thermo-System GmbH to complement its waste-to-energy and sludge incineration technologies.
As part of the agreement, Outotec will get exclusive rights to market Thermo-System's low-energy drying technology in connection with its thermal processing solutions in Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
Low-energy drying technology is used mainly for pre-drying the sewage sludge or wet peat before incineration, using waste heat from district heating as an energy source.
Part of the pre-dried sludge will be mixed with the incineration ashes to produce a raw material rich in phosphor, nitrogen and potassium for the fertilizer industry.
Outotec is currently collaborating with forest and organic fertilizer producer, Ecolan Oy, to develop a thermal treatment plant for sewage sludge for the town of Nokia in Finland. The project is currently in the construction phase and expected to be operational in the first quarter in 2017.
Kari Knuutila, CTO of Outotec, said: "The partnership with Thermo-System fits perfectly with our circular economy approach: We use our expertise to recover and recycle the valuable nutrients and thus help to solve challenges relating to resource scarcity. In addition, our thermal processing combined with low-energy drying is a safe way to manage organic micro pollutants in sewage sludges.”
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