PERGAMON Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Sewage sludge combustion

J. Werther a,*, T. Ogada b
a
Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, Chemical Engineering I, Denickestrasse 15, 21071 Hamburg, Germany
b
Moi University, Department of Production Engineering, PO Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya
Received 2 December 1997

Abstract
In the current review paper, various issues related to the combustion of sewage sludge are discussed. After briefly explaining
the formation and treatment of sewage sludge, current and future sludge production are discussed. Thereafter, the four sludge
disposal methods which are currently used, i.e. recycling in agriculture, landfilling, dumping into sea and incineration, are
examined, and the future trend presented showing the increasing role of sludge incineration. Thereafter, technologies for
thermal processing of sewage sludge are presented. They are discussed in three groups, i.e. mono-combustion, co-combustion
and alternative processes. Various mono-combustion incinerators, including multiple hearth, fluidized bed and smelting
furnaces are briefly discussed, whereas for co-combustion, attention has been given to co-combustion with coals in pulverized
and fluidized bed coal combustors, as well as co-incineration with municipal solid wastes in various furnaces. Where possible,
data from large scale plants are presented. Currently being discussed in the sludge disposal cycles are the alternative thermal
processes to sludge combustion. These include wet oxidation, pyrolysis, oil from sludge processes, and combinations of
pyrolysis, combustion and gasification processes. Some of these alternative technologies are also briefly discussed. An impor-
tant aspect during thermal processing of sewage sludge is its combustion mechanisms. Compared to coals, sewage sludge has
very high contents of moisture and volatile matter which can affect the combustion process. The importance of the drying and
devolatilization processes for sewage sludge combustion is thus examined. In a special case, the release and combustion of the
volatiles during sludge combustion in fluidized bed combustors is analysed, and some information concerning the combustion
of sludge char is presented. Another important issue of sludge combustion is the emissions of pollutants gases as well as the
handling of solid by-products. Of concern include the heavy metals, mercury, dioxins and furans, acid gases, as well as NOx and
N2O. These are also briefly discussed. A peculiar characteristic of sewage sludge is its high content of nitrogen, and attention
has been given to see how this affects the N2O and NOx emissions. In a special case, emission performance of large scale
combustors of sewage sludge is presented. 1998 Elsevier Science 1998. All rights reserved.
Keywords: sludge; sewage sludge; combustion; emissions; fluidized bed combustion

Contents
Nomenclature 57
1. Sewage sludge: formation, treatment and disposal 57
1.1. Formation of sewage sludge 57
1.2. Processing of sewage sludge 58
1.2.1. Stabilization 59
1.2.2. Dewatering 59
1.3. Production of sewage sludge 60
1.4. Disposal of sewage sludge 62
1.4.1. Application of sewage sludge as fertilizers on agricultural land 62

* Corresponding author
0360-1285/99/$ see front matter 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
PII: S0360-128 5(98)00020-3
56 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

1.4.2. Disposal of sewage sludge through land filling in sanitary sites 63

1.4.3. Dumping of sewage sludge into the sea 64
1.4.4. Disposal of sewage sludge through incineration 64
1.4.5. Current and future disposal routes for sewage sludge 64
1.5. Summary 65
2. Technologies for thermal processing of sewage sludge 65
2.1. Introduction 65
2.2. Mono-incineration technologies 66
2.2.1. Multiple hearth furnaces 67
2.2.2. Fluidized bed combustors 67
2.2.3. Etagenwirbler of Lurgi 69
2.2.4. Smelting furnaces 69
2.2.5. Rotary kilns 70
2.2.6. Cyclone furnaces 70
2.3. Co-combustion technologies 70
2.3.1. Co-combustion in coal-fired power plants 71
2.3.1.1. Co-combustion in pulverized coal power stations 71
2.3.1.2. Co-combustion in fluidized bed combustors 72
2.3.2. Co-incineration with municipal solid wastes 74
2.3.2.1. Co-incineration in grate furnaces 74
2.3.2.2. Co-incineration in MHF and FBC furnaces 74
2.3.3. Co-combustion of sewage sludge in other processes 75
2.3.3.1. Co-combustion of sewage sludge in clay brick manufacture 75
2.3.3.2. Co-combusion of sewage sludge in cement kilns 76
2.4. Alternative technologies for thermal processing of sewage sludge 76
2.4.1. Wet oxidation of sewage sludge 77
2.4.2. Pyrolysis and oil from sludge (OFS) processes 78
2.4.3. Sludge-derived fuelsthe CG process 79
2.4.4. Gasification and combined processes 80
2.4.4.1. SVZ process 80
2.4.4.2. Krupp Uhde PreCon process 80
2.4.4.3. Siemens Schwel-Brenn process 81
2.4.4.4. Recycled clean products (RCP) process of von Roll 81
2.4.4.5. Noell conversion process 82
2.4.4.6. Thermoselect process 82
2.5. Summary 82
3. Combustion mechanisms of sewage sludge 83
3.1. Introduction 83
3.2. Drying 83
3.2.1. Influence of moisture content on the design and operation of wet sewage sludge combustor systems 83
3.2.2. Influence of drying on the combustion process of sewage sludge 84
3.3. Devolatilization 87
3.4. Release and combustion of the volatiles during fluidized bed combustion of sewage sludge 88
3.5. Sewage sludge char combustion in fluidized bed 91
3.6. Summary 93
4. Environmental considerations during the combustion of sewage sludge 94
4.1. Pollutants from sewage sludge combustion 94
4.1.1. Heavy metals 94
4.1.2. Dioxins and furans 94
4.1.3. Ash 95
4.1.4. Other pollutants 95
4.2. Emissions regulation for sewage sludge incineration 96
4.3. Post-combustion control of the pollutant emissions during sewage sludge combustion 96
4.3.1. Ash and heavy metals 96
4.3.2. Mercury 97
4.3.3. Dioxins and furans 98
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 57

4.3.4. SO2, HCl and HF 99

4.4. Mechanisms of NOx and N2O formation during coal combustion, and their relevance to sewage sludge
combustion 99
4.4.1. Mechanisms of NOx and N2O formation during coal combustion 99
4.4.2. Peculiar characteristics of sewage sludge 101
4.5. NOx and N2O emissions from mono-combustion of sewage sludge in the FBC 102
4.5.1. NOx and N2O emissions during combustion of pre-dried sewage sludge granulates 102
4.5.2. NOx emissions during combustion of wet sewage sludge 103
4.6. Emissions during co-combustion of sewage sludge 104
4.6.1. Co-combustion in pulverized coal combustors 104
4.6.1.1. Burnout and CO emissions 104
4.6.1.2. NOx emissions 104
4.6.1.3. SO2, HCl and dioxin emissions 105
4.6.2. Co-combustion in fluidized bed 105
4.7. Experience from large scale sewage sludge combustors 106
4.8. Summary 109
5. Conclusion 109
Acknowledgements 109
References 110

Nomenclature
1. Sewage sludge: formation, treatment and disposal
BOD5 5-day biological oxygen Demand
CEP catalytic extraction process 1.1. Formation of sewage sludge
COD chemical oxygen demand
CFB circulating fluidized bed Sludge is formed during wastewater treatment. Waste-
CG CarverGreenfield process water is a combination of the liquid- or water-carried wastes
d.m. dry mass removed from residential, institutional, commercial and
EU European Union industrial establishments, together with ground water,
EW Etagenwirbler combustor surface water and storm water, as may be present [1]. Waste-
ESP electrostatic precipitator water may contain certain undesirable components, includ-
FBC fluidized bed combustor ing organic, inorganic and toxic substances, as well as
HERS Hyperion energy recovery system pathogenic or disease-causing micro-organisms. Table 1
HTW high temperature Winkler process shows a typical composition of untreated municipal waste-
MHF multiple hearth furnace water. The main groups of the organic solids in wastewater
NIC newly industrialized countries are proteins, carbohydrates, fats and oils. Protein contains
NL Netherlands about 16% nitrogen, and together with urea are the major
NJDEPE New Jersey Department of Environmental sources of nitrogen in wastewater [2].
Protection and Energy In its untreated form, wastewater can not be disposed of
OFS oil from sludge process for several reasons. First, the biological decomposition of
PCDD chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins the organic materials in wastewater consumes oxygen and
PCDF chlorinated dibenzofurans thus reduces the quantity available in the receiving waters
Pf pulverized fuel
RDF refuse-derived fuel Table 1
Typical domestic sewage characteristics, in mg/l (source: [2])
RCP recycled clean products process
SABS South African Bureau of Standard Weak Medium Strong
SRVSA Somerset-Rarita Valley Sewerage Authority
SS suspended solids Total suspended solids 100 200 350
STW sewage treatment works Volatile suspended solids 75 135 210
SVZ Sekundarrohstoff Verwertungszentrum BOD5 100 200 400
t/a tons/annum COD 175 300 600
Ammonia-N 5 10 20
TBSA Two Bridges Sewerage Authority
Organic-N 8 20 40
TEG toxicity equivalent
PO4-P 7 10 20
TMT 15 trimercapto-S-triazin
wf water-free basis BOD5 is the five-day biological oxygen demand, COD is the
waf water- and ash-free basis chemical oxygen demand.
58 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 2
Comparison of national standards for effluents in mg/l (sources: [3, 4])
Hong Kong Japan Malaysia Singapore
BOD5 2040 160 2050 100
COD 8085
SS 3040
N 2050
Hg 0.001 0.05 0.0050.05 0.0010.05
Phenols 0.1 5 0.0011 5 5
SSsuspended solids, NLNetherlands and EUEuropean Union.
for the aquatic life. The decomposition also produces large
quantities of malodorous gases. Secondly, the numerous
pathogenic or disease-causing micro-organisms in untreated
wastewater are health hazards to human beings. Third, its
toxic compounds, especially heavy metals, can be danger-
ous to both plants and animals, and finally the presence of
phosphates and nitrogen may lead to uncontrolled growth of
aquatic plants [1]. It is therefore necessary to reduce the
organic components, nitrogen and phosphorus, toxic
compounds, as well as to destroy the pathogenic or
disease-causing micro-organisms from wastewater before
its disposal.
There are regulations governing the quality of the effluent
discharged from Sewage Treatment Works (STW). The
regulations set limits for the concentrations of BOD5,
COD, total suspended solids, phosphorus, nitrogen, mercury
and phenol, among others, in the discharge from STW. In
the European Union (EU), the quality of effluent is currently
regulated through the Urban Wastewater Treatment Direc-
tive (91/271/EEC) [3] of May 1991. The directive also
requires that all communities with above 2000 population
equivalents install adequate collection, treatment and dispo-
sal systems for the wastewater generated. Table 2 gives
some values of the national standards of some countries
for illustration.
A comparison of the limits in Table 2 with the concentra-
tions in Table 1 shows that a significant reduction of the
various components must be affected in the STW to meet
the limits required. It is important to note that even the
Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC) are already moving
towards stricter limits for pollutants in their effluent
discharges. To achieve the set limits for effluent discharges,
a modern wastewater treatment plant may employ three
stages of wastewater treatment, i.e. mechanical, biological,
and an additional (third) stage for the elimination of nitrogen
and phosphorous.
The mechanical stage provides a primary clarification.
The incoming untreated wastewater passes through racks
and screens where coarse solids are removed, and then
into grid chambers, where sand, gravel, cinders and other
heavy solid materials are separated. Thereafter, in sedimen-
tation tanks, readily settleable solids and floating materials
are removed. In the mechanical stage, 5070% of the
Taiwan France NL Portugal EU [3]
100 30 20 40 25
90 150 125
30 30 60 35
10 1015 15 1015
0.005
suspended solids and 2540% of the BOD5 can be removed
[1]. The materials removed form primary sludge, having 3
5 wt% solids which consists of 30% inorganic and 70%
organic matter [5].
In the biological treatment phase, the coagulation and
removal of the non-settleable colloidal solids and the stabi-
lization of the organic matter is accomplished biologically
using a variety of micro-organisms, principally bacteria [1].
The micro-organisms convert the colloidal and dissolved
carbonaceous organic matter into various gases and cell
tissues. The cell tissues have a specific gravity slightly
higher than that of water and can therefore be removed
through sedimentation. The sludge removed at this stage is
normally referred to as secondary sludge.
In the third treatment stage, the elimination of phosphor-
ous and nitrogen takes place. Nitrogen elimination may be
achieved by a two-stage process: nitrification and denitrifi-
cation. Ammonia in the wastewater is first oxidized to
nitrate (nitrification) and thereafter the nitrate is converted
to free nitrogen (denitrification) before it is discharged [6].
Denitrification is an important part of the nitrogen cycle,
since through the release of the nitrogen to the atmosphere,
the cycle is completed [7]. Phosphorous compounds can be
eliminated through chemical precipitation using additives
followed by the sedimentation of the sludge formed, or
through biological treatment, where phosphorous
compounds are incorporated in the cell tissues which are
thereafter removed through sedimentation [8]. Nitrogen
and phosphorus sludges may be formed at this stage.
1.2. Processing of sewage sludge
Sludge is by far the largest in volume amongst the by-
products of wastewater treatments, and its processing and
disposal is perhaps one of the most complex environmental
problems facing the engineer in this field. This is because
the sludge resulting from the wastewater treatment opera-
tions and processes is usually in the form of a very dilute
suspension, which typically contains from 0.25 to 12%
solids, depending on the operation and process used. Apart
from that, sludge is composed largely of the substances
responsible for the offensive, pathogenic and toxic charac-
teristics of the untreated wastewater [1]. Sludge processing
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 1. Material balance: watersolid mass according to Manzel [14].
is therefore intended to reduce smell, reduce the quantity of
the organic solids, eliminate disease-causing bacteria,
improve the dewatering characteristics of sludge, and
reduce the water content so that the end product can be
treated further or disposed of with less handling problems
and environmental consequences. These can be achieved
through sludge stabilization, conditioning and dewatering.
1.2.1. Stabilization
There are three methods of stabilization normally prac-
tised in wastewater treatment plants. These are digestion,
lime stabilization and heat treatment. Digestion involves
partial conversion of the organic matter into a gas and a
stabilized residue with the help of bacteria either in the
absence of (anaerobic) or presence of oxygen (aerobic),
during which disease-causing bacteria are also destroyed.
Digestion is used widely for municipal sludge, but may
not be applied to industrial sludge which may contain a
high content of indigestible substances and/or chemicals
likely to destroy the micro-organisms [9]. Lime stabilization
and conditioning involves the addition of lime to untreated
sludge in sufficient quantity to raise the pH to 12 or higher,
an environment that is not conducive to the survival of
micro-organisms. Consequently, the sludge will not putrefy,
create odours or pose a health hazard as long as the pH is
maintained at this level [1]. Heat treatment also stabilizes
and conditions sludge. It involves two-stage heating of
sludge, at 3075 and 75190C, and at a pressure of
26 bar for a short time [10]. This coagulates the solids,
breaks down the gel structure and reduces the water affinity
of the sludge solids. As a result, the sludge is sterilized,
practically deodorized and is dewatered readily on vacuum
filters or filter presses to 3540% d.m. without additives
[10].
The methods of sludge stabilization and conditioning
chosen are important since they determine the quantity of
sludge to be further treated. They also change the physical
and chemical characteristics of the sludge, and these may
have significant effects on sludge incineration. Stabilization
59
through digestion, e.g. leads to a decrease in the quantity of
sludge, since part of the organic substance is released as CH4
and CO2. This, however, reduces its calorific value from
around 17.5 MJ/kg d.m. for raw sludge to about 10.5 MJ/
kg d.m. for digested sludge [11], so it can be argued that
incorporating digestion process would be undesirable if the
sludge is to be incinerated. But, Albrink et al. [12] have
shown that digestion of sludge prior to incineration has
several advantages which outweigh the effect of reduced
calorific value. The sludge volume is reduced by 50% and
its dewatering properties increased by twothree points.
Furthermore, in the event of a breakdown of the incinerator,
digested sludge can be handled easier than raw sludge. The
digestors could also provide short term storage of sludge.
Lime stabilization leads to an increase in the quantity of
sludge and lowers its calorific value. For sludge disposal
through land filling, the addition of lime would increase
the disposal cost. Thermal stabilization and conditioning
cause insignificant changes in the quantity of sludge, but
experience from large scale application shows that due to
the return of the dissolved organic substance, heavy metals
and NH3 are returned back to the raw wastewater, the quality
of effluent decreases [10]. In the European Union, 50% of
the sewage treatment plants have anaerobic digestion, 18%
aerobic digestion and 4% lime stabilization, whereas 24% of
the plants undertake no sludge stabilization [3]. Digestion is
therefore the most popular sludge stabilization method
within the EU. Significant reduction in sludge quantity is
achieved through digestion, which is in line with European
Waste Management Policy of sustainable development
having the following hierarchy of waste management prior-
ity: avoidance, minimization, recycling, incineration with
energy recovery and landfilling [13].
1.2.2. Dewatering
The effect of moisture content on the sludge volume is
enormous, and sludge handling techniques are directed
toward reducing the moisture content and hence the volume
of the sludge to be disposed. Dewatering is therefore a
60 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 2. A flow diagram of wastewater treatment plant at Koehlbrandhoeft-Hamburg, Germany [17].
prerequisite for the further treatment of sludge, as well as
handling, transporting and disposal.
The moisture associated with flocs of sewage sludge are:
7075% free water, 2025% floc water, and 1% each capil-
lary and bound water. The free water can be removed by
thickening. The floc water is trapped in the interstices of floc
particles and is separable only by mechanical dewatering.
The capillary moisture can be removed mechanically only
after chemical conditioning, whereas the bound moisture is
separable only through cell destruction [2].
Figure 1 shows the water content of sludge after thicken-
ing, conditioning, mechanical dewatering and drying [14].
Thickening leads to a significant volume reduction of the
sludge. For example, thickening of sludge from 3 to 6%
solids will reduce its volume by 50% [2]. After thickening,
further removal of water would require mechanical dewater-
ing. To improve the dewatering properties, sludge may be
conditioned using chemical additives or through thermal
treatment. Chemical conditioning results in coagulation of
the solids and the release of the water. The quantity of
chemicals required is small (810 mg/kg d.m.) and there-
fore does not affect the quantity of sludge produced. Sludge
incineration ash, fine sludge particles or coal can also be
used as additives for sludge conditioning.
The heat treatment process is applicable to biological
sludge that may be difficult to stabilize or condition by
other means [1]. Mechanical dewatering units include belt
filter press, vacuum filters and centrifuges. The solid
contents achievable (with flocculants) range from 20 to
40 wt% for belt and centrifugal filters, and from 24 to
42 wt% for pressure and vacuum filters [15]. Through ther-
mal drying, a further reduction of the water content of the
sludge can be achieved. Predried sludge is easier to store,
transport and feed, and therefore offers wide possibilities for
use [10]. A pre-condition for the incorporation of the drying
process is the presence of a clear disposal concept for the
sludge [16]. For example, sludge pyrolysis, gasification and
co-firing in pulverized coal combustors may require
complete dry sludge, whereas for mono-combustion,
mechanically dewatered sludge with 2045 wt% d.m. or
semi-dried sludge with 4560 wt% d.m. is used.
1.3. Production of sewage sludge
The world is currently witnessing a rapid increase in
sludge production, and this is expected to continue up to
the early part of the next century. In both developed and
NICs, the increase in sludge production is driven by the
increase in the percentage of households connected to
central treatment plants, the increasingly tightening of
pollution limits on the effluent discharges, as well as the
availability of technologies capable of achieving higher
efficiency of wastewater treatment. The effect of the
increase in environmental awareness in general can also
not be ignored. On the other hand, due to ever increasing
transportation and disposal costs, every effort is being made
to reduce the quantity of sludge for disposal by increasingly
lowering the water content of the sludge. The net quantity of
sludge available for disposal therefore depends on the finan-
cial, environmental and technological limitations of a given
city or country.
The history of the wastewater treatment plant of Hamburg
City, Germany provides a good illustration of the above
case. Currently, about 40 000 000 litres of wastewater per
day is treated in their modern three-stage wastewater treat-
ment plant (Fig. 2). In the process, 4000 m 3/day sewage
sludge with 3 wt% dry matter is formed [17, 18]. The sludge
is thickened to 58 wt% d.m. and stabilized through an-
aerobic digestion. On leaving the digestors, the sludge is
conditioned by warming to about 55C using waste steam
from a drier and adding polyelectrolyte (67 g/kg d.m.).
The sludge is then dewatered in centrifuges to about
23 wt% d.m. thereby reducing its volume by 80%. The
dewatered sludge is then dried to a solid content of 55%
dry mass.
The above described process has evolved over a long
period [12, 18]. Up to 1981, the digested sludge was thick-
ened and disposed of in the North Sea, and between 1981
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 3. Sludge production in Germany (source: [22]).
and 1983, dumped in the Atlantic. The disposal of thickened
sludge was uneconomical in terms of high transportation
costs due to its large volume. Therefore, from 1983, the
thickened sludge was conditioned with lime and then de-
watered to 23 wt% d.m., and then raised to 35 wt% d.m.
through additives for disposal in landfills. This resulted in
a reduction of the quantity of sludge disposed from
300 000 t/a to under 100 000 t/a. However, following the
commissioning of the second phase of the wastewater treat-
ment plant in Koehlbrandhoeft in 1983 and the second
biological treatment plant in Dradenau in 1988, the sludge
quantity increased to 200 000 t/a. To reduce this, a drier was
incorporated in the system in 1992 which raised the solid
contents of the sludge to 55 wt% d.m. and reduced the quan-
tity of sludge disposed to 70 000 t/a. Currently, a fluidized
bed incinerator is being commissioned to burn the 70 000 t/a
sludge together with the 7000 t/a screens and reduce them to
25 000 t/a stabilized ash.
The above-described scenario from Hamburgs waste-
water treatment plant represents a familiar problem of
many cities of the developed countries in general, and
Germany in particular. Around 10 000 wastewater treat-
ment plants are currently operating in Germany [19].
Some 2.53 000 000 tons of sewage sludge (d.m.) were
produced in 1991, and by the year 2000 about
4 000 000 tons per year is predicted [20]. The expected
increase in sludge production will be mainly due to
increased connection of households in the former Demo-
cratic Republic of Germany, where only 56% of the house-
holds were connected to a central wastewater treatment
system in 1994 [21]. In the former West Germany, where
already 90% of the households are connected to central
treatment system, the expected increase will be due to
improved quality and efficiency of wastewater treatment,
especially with the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus
elimination stages. Data compiled by Ying [22] show that
there has been a steady increase in sludge production since
1965 (Fig. 3).
Outside Germany, the situation is more or less the same.
In 1991, the countries within the European Union, having a
domestic population of 345 000 000, operated 40 300
STWs, yielding a total of about 6 500 000 tons of dry solids
61
Fig. 4. Sludge production in the EC, 19842005 in million t/a dry
sludge [3].
per year [3]. This was an increase of 18% from the
5 500 000 tons of dry sludge produced in 1987 [23].
Currently, 79% of the population are connected to sewer.
Four countries (France, Germany, Italy and the UK) produce
84% of the sludge disposed of in the European Community
and have 82% of the STWs. Germany alone contributes 41%
of the total amount of sludge disposed compared with 17%
from the UK, and 13% each from France and Italy [3]. It is
expected that sludge production will increase to about
10 000 000 million t/a d.m. by 2005 (Fig. 4). The increase
will be mainly caused by the implementation of the Urban
Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/171/EEC), which
requires all sewage discharges above 2000 population
equivalents to be treated according to the sensitivity of the
receiving water, in specified phases, and to be completed by
31 December 2005.
In the USA, over 7 000 000 tons of dry sewage sludge
were produced in 1990 [2]. The sludge disposed contained
varying amounts of moisture contents so that the total mass
actually involved might well have exceeded
70 000 000 tons per year. In Japan, there has been a striking
change in the provision of sanitary services during the last
30 years. In the early 1950s, almost all the population used a
night soil collection system with relatively few sewage
treatment plants being available. Since 1955, the urban
areas have shown a rapid growth in the installation of
flush toilets and sewer connection through a series of five-
year programmes [24]. Already in 1991, 45% of the house-
holds were connected to central sewage systems producing
some 280 000 000 tons (about 4 560 000 t/a d.m.) of thick-
ened sludge [25]. Central government projected the sewer
connection to increase to 54% in 1995 and 70% by the year
2000 [26]. Thus, a rapid increase in sludge production is
expected in Japan. Reports by Lowe [27] indicate that in
1993, Hong Kong Territories, which include Hong Kong
Island and the leased Territories on the South China main-
land with an estimated population of 5 800 000 produced
approximately 44 300 t/a dry sludge, of which 28 900 t/a
were from water treatment and 15 400 t/a from sewage
treatment [27]. The implementation of sewage treatment
62 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Table 3
Content of fertilizing compounds in municipal sewage sludge [28]

Components N P2O5 K2O MgO CaO

Average (kg/t d.m.) 38 36 4.2 9.8 73.8

Minimum (kg/t d.m.) 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
Maximum (kg/t d.m.) 246 344 95 122 727

Table 4
Contents of heavy metals in German sludges and soils [28]

Heavy metal Average in Average in Average in

sewage sludge farming soils natural clays
(mg/kg d.m.) (mg/kg d.m.) (mg/kg d.m.)

Cadmium 3.8 0.44 0.3

Copper 330 15 45
Nickel 39 15
Lead 159 36 20
Zinc 1318 67 95
Mercury 2.7 0.12 0.4
Chromium 91 25 90

Table 5
Limit values of heavy metals stipulated in sludge in Agriculture Directive (86/278/EEC) [3]

Heavy metal Limit concentration in Limit concentration in Limit annual average

soil (mg/kg d.m.) sludge (mg/kg d.m.) allowed in soil (kg
per hectare per year)

Cadmium 13 2040 0.15

Copper 50140 10001750 12
Nickel 3075 300400 3
Lead 50300 7501200 15
Zinc 150300 25004000 30
Mercury 11.5 1625 30
Chromium

strategy and the need to satisfy the increasing demand for
drinking water was expected to bring about a substantial
increase in sludge production over the next decade. The
expected increase in sludge production was due to the provi-
sion of new and improved treatment facilities, however, a
significant increase was to be found after the commissioning
of the Stonecutter Island STW. The Stonecutter plant alone
was expected initially to produce 309 000 t/a dry matter of
lime-precipitated primary sludge, rising to a peak of
314 000 t/a five years later. In other countries, the situation
is expected to be more or less the same.
1.4. Disposal of sewage sludge
Generally, the selection of the best disposal route for the
sludge from a particular treatment plant should start by
identifying the most secure and environmentally acceptable
final destination for the sludge, and this in turn would dictate
the type of treatment required [23]. This reverse sequence of
selection procedures rarely occurs in practice and, indeed,
sludge disposal has often been done on an ad hoc basis, with
each sewage treatment plant management determining a
local disposal solution. Currently, the sludge disposal
outlets which exist are recycling as fertilizer, land filling,
dumping in the sea and incineration.
1.4.1. Application of sewage sludge as fertilizers on
agricultural land
Residues of treatment of municipal wastewater can be
applied to the land to serve as a fertilizer and soil con-
ditioner. Based on its content of nitrogen and phosphorus
(Table 3), communal sludge shows good fertilizer properties
[28]. Sludge recycling as fertilizer has several advantages
which include the return of the organic materials into the
bio-cycle. Sludge also replaces the application of artificial
fertilizers whose production also requires a lot of energy
[29]. Currently, application of sludge in agriculture takes
60% of the sludge produced in France, 54% in Denmark,
50% in Spain, 44% in UK and 26% in USA [2, 3].
In the recent past, the application of sludge on agricultural
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 63

Table 6
Some limit values of heavy metals stipulated in sludge from difference countries [13, 30]

Heavy metal EU UK Germany Denmark South Africa

Cadmium 13 3 1.5 0.5 2

Copper 50140 135 60 40 100
Nickel 3075 75 50 15 15
Lead 50300 300 100 40 56
Zinc 150300 300 200 100 185
Mercury 11.5 1 1 0.5 0.5

The limits are given in mg of metal per kg of sludge-dry mass basis.

land has met a lot of setbacks due to the presence of heavy
metals in the sludge. Analyses by Poletschny [28] of 6800
sludge samples from different parts of Germany have shown
that the average content of heavy metals in municipal sludge
is higher than the average for most farming soils (Table 4).
This implies that uncontrolled addition of sludge to the agri-
cultural land may increase the concentration of heavy metals
in the farm land. This could have an effect on the crop produc-
tion due to uptake and also lead to the transfer of heavy metals
to human beings through plants and animals [28].
To regulate the use of sewage sludge on agriculture, many
countries have introduced limit concentrations either in the
soil or sludge, and the frequency of application. For exam-
ple, Table 5 shows the EU Directive (86/278/EEC) govern-
ing the application of sludge to agricultural land [3].
The Directive controls the use of sludge on agricultural
land in two ways:
1. By considering the potential toxic elements (PTE)
content of the soil nominated to receive sewage sludge.
If the concentration of any one of the PTEs in the soil
exceeds the minimum limit stipulated in the National
Legislation used to implement the requirements of the
Directive, then sludge application will not be allowed.
2. By regulating the application of sludge to land to ensure
that the accumulation of heavy metals after sludge
addition does not exceed the limits laid down in the
legislation.
The EC directive is flexible in its approach to metal limits
and this has led to most countries setting their own limits,
some of which are more strict (see Table 6). In some cases,
the nature of the soils also matters. For example, The Neth-
erlands and Denmark have set very strict limits for metals in
sludge applied to land due to the vulnerable shallow sand
soils in these countries and also to the need for the land to
take a large quantity of animal slurries [13].
1.4.2. Disposal of sewage sludge through land filling in
sanitary sites
Disposal of sewage sludge to sanitary landfills still takes
the bulk of sludges in developed countries. About 40% of
the sludge produced in the European Union is disposed of
through land filling [3]. For Greece, Luxembourg and Italy,
where 90, 88 and 85%, respectively, of the sludge is taken to
landfills, it is the main sludge disposal method. In the
U.S.A., 48% of the sludge produced in 1990 was deposited
through land filling [2].
There are two methods of land filling, i.e. co- and mono-
disposal. Whereas co-disposal with other municipal waste is
possible, in most cases mono-filling is practised. Although
currently one of the main sludge disposal outlets, the future
of sludge disposal through land filling is doubtful. One of
the problems of land filling is the poor physical nature of the
sludge resulting in handling and stability problems [23]. It is
desired that sludge for land filling should be well stabilized
and dewatered to reduce the emission of odour, gas (e.g.
CH4) and percolating water [31]. Because of the problems
of stability, emissions of odour and gas, and pollution of the
ground water, there is a trend towards establishing a mini-
mum standard for the physical properties of the sludge for

Table 7
Cost development of disposing sewage sludge with 35% dry mass [20]

Year Landfilling (DEM/t) Dewatering, Dewatering, incineration and

strengthening and landfilling (DEM/t)
landfilling (DEM/t)

1980 515 2050 100150

1985 2050 4080 120160
1990 50150 90170 150230
1991 70180 100210 170290
1992 100450 130480 200500
64 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Table 8
Percent sewage sludge recycled and disposed of by the EU [3]

Country Agriculture Landfill Incineration Sea Other routes

Belgium 29 55 15 0 1
Denmark 54 20 24 0 2
France 60 20 20 0 0
Germany 27 54 14 0 5
Greece 10 90 0 0 0
Ireland 12 45 0 35 8
Italy 33 55 1 0 11
Luxembourg 12 88 0 0 0
Netherlands 26 50 3 0 20
Portugal 30 60 0 0 10
Spain 50 35 5 10 0
U.K. 44 8 7 30 11
Total 37 40 11 6 6

disposal in some countries in order to minimize these
problems. For example, in Germany, currently sludge
must have a minimum dry matter content of 35 wt% to be
deposited in a landfill [32]. This has the effect of increasing
the total quantity of sludge to be disposed due to additives
required to raise the solid content. Another problem is that
the available capacities of landfill sites are diminishing and
suitable regions where new filling sites could be constructed
are limited. In certain countries, e.g. Germany, the proce-
dure for obtaining permission to construct a new filling site
is long and tedious. These problems have tended to increase
the tipping charges [23], and the advantage of land filling as
a cheaper disposal method than incineration is disappearing
rapidly. Indeed, a comparative cost development compiled
by Kassner [20] is a good illustration of this (Table 7).
To avoid the pollution on ground water due to decompo-
sition of the organic matter in the sludge, a new governmen-
tal regulation, the Technische Anleitung Siedlungsabfall
(i.e. technical guideline for handling and disposal of urban
waste [33]) of 1992 was released in Germany, which
requires that from 2005, the organic content of any material
to be deposited in the filling sites must be less than 5%. This
obviously indicates that only incineration sludge ash will be
landfilled. In the EC, the provisions on land filling are being
finalized. The directive will stipulate minimum technical
and administrative requirements for the operation of land-
fills. The co-disposal of the sludge with domestic waste will
be allowed, but co-disposal with hazardous waste will be
phased out within five years of adoption of the Directive [3].
1.4.3. Dumping of sewage sludge into the sea
In Europe, dumping of sludge into the sea is currently
practised only by three countries, i.e. Ireland 35%, UK
30% and Spain 10%. Marine dispersal is controlled in accor-
dance with certain requirements, e.g. the Oslo Convention
for the protection of the North Sea and the North East Atlan-
tic, and in accordance to licences issued under national
legislation which take into account the quantity and quality
of the sludge and the nature of the receiving area [34]. In
USA, ocean disposal by states having coastal line has been
practised, but this was expected to be phased out because of
changes in water pollution control regulation [2]. In Europe,
there will be no more dumping of sludge into the ocean as
from 31 December 1998, when the North Sea Conference
Agreement comes into force and sea disposal is banned [35].
1.4.4. Disposal of sewage sludge through incineration
The limitations facing landfilling and recycling, and the
planned ban on sea disposal lead to the expectation that the
role of incineration will increase in the future. Sludge incin-
eration enjoys a combination of several advantages that are
not found in other treatment alternatives, including a large
reduction of sludge volume to a small stabilized ash, which
accounts for only 10% of the volume of mechanically de-
watered sludge, and thermal destruction of toxic organic
constituents [36]. Further, the calorific value of dry sludge
corresponds to that of brown coal, and therefore through
incineration this energy content may be recovered [37]. In
large urban areas where vast quantities of wastewater sludge
is produced, lack of readily available disposal space and the
need to minimize odor generation from landfillings and
aesthetic objections of the nearby population makes incin-
eration an attractive sludge disposal method. There have
been considerable improvements to the technology of incin-
eration. Techniques are now available to control gaseous
emissions and incineration costs are becoming much more
competitive with other disposal options, to the extent that
incineration is now seen as the only solution to the increas-
ing problems of other sludge disposal options [23]. Already,
incineration takes 24% of the sludge produced in Denmark,
20% in France, 15% in Belgium and 14% in Germany [3]. In
the USA and Japan, 25 and 55% of the sludge produced,
respectively, is incinerated [38].
1.4.5. Current and future disposal routes for sewage sludge
Table 8 summarizes the sludge disposal routes for all the
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 5. Sludge disposal routes in the European Community up to
2005 [3].
countries within the EU in 1992. A total of 6 476 400 tons
dry substance of sewage sludge was disposed, out of which
37% was recycled, 40% landfilled, 11% incinerated, 6%
dumped into the sea and the rest disposed through other
outlets. On average, equal quantities of sludge went to agri-
culture and landfilling, taking 37 and 40%, respectively,
whereas the level of disposal through incineration and sea
disposal was low. Preferences of individual countries are
different. France, Denmark, Spain and UK dispose most of
their sludge through recycling as fertilizer, whereas the rest
use landfilling. Landfilling is the main disposal route for
Greece and Luxembourg, and it is seen that UK, Ireland
and Spain are the only member countries which will be
affected when disposal to sea is banned with effect from
31 December 1998. Incineration is already widely practised
in Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany.
The forecast of the trends in disposal routes up to 2005 is
shown in Fig. 5. Despite the fact that landfilling is currently
the most widely used disposal outlet, almost all the countries
recognize that this outlet will not be sustainable at current or
projected levels far into the future due to increasing compe-
tition for landfill space, higher cost, more stringent environ-
mental standards and the implementation of policies to
promote recycling. Some countries have introduced
measures to promote the recycling of organic waste, and
to limit methane and leachate emissions from landfill
sites. Consequently, in the future in countries, e.g. Germany,
Denmark and France, sludge will only be acceptable in land-
fills as incinerator ash [3].
As a result, landfilling as a way of sludge disposal is
expected to decrease. On the other hand, many countries
recognize agricultural land as the major beneficial outlet
for sludge. Concern over risks from heavy metals and
organic contaminants in the sludge, and caution over the
addition of nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich manure to land,
will continue to be a major factor in limiting the use of
sludge as fertilizer. Incineration is currently a minor method
of sludge disposal, but it is anticipated that it will increase
substantially in the future to cope with the increasing sludge
production from large STWs and to deal with sludge
65
previously landfilled. In some countries, notably the Nether-
lands and to some extent Germany, sludge currently used as
fertilizer will be incinerated, since agricultural use has
become untenable in the Netherlands and regarded by
many as increasingly difficult in Germany [3].
Projection shows that by 2005, recycling in agriculture
will take 45% of the sludge produced in the EC. Incineration
will increase to 38%, whereas only 17% of the sludge will be
disposed through landfilling. The projections represent a
very drastic reduction of the sludge to landfilling. The
above-mentioned forecasts are strongly influenced by
Germany, which will be producing up to 38% of sludge in
the EC in 2005, and a strong decline in sludge disposal to
landfill is mainly due to the anticipated implementation of
the German policy to restrict the landfilling of organic
matter-rich wastes by 2005 [3].
Although sufficient information is not available to us
concerning the trend in other countries outside Europe, it
may be expected that the role of incineration as a route for
sludge disposal will increase. In Japan, e.g. over 55% of the
sludge produced was incinerated in 1991 [26]. The growing
shortage of suitable land for disposal sites strengthens the
preference for sludge incineration. Indeed, the pressure is so
great that sludge incineration is already being seen as not
good enough as far as volume reduction is concerned, and
treatment techniques, e.g. sludge or ash smelting are
currently being considered to give maximum volume reduc-
tion [26, 39]. In Hong Kong, there is no suitable agricultural
land and forestry which can be utilized for sludge disposal
[27]. The disposal to sea is currently being practised for
waterworks and digested sewage sludge. The Environmental
Protection Department, however, is concerned about
increasing the amount of sludge disposed to the relatively
shallow marine site in the South China sea, and a compre-
hensive monitoring programme has been set up to assess its
long-term effects. This, together with the international trend
to ban sea disposal, led to the exclusion of the sea disposal
option to all sludges other than those from Sha Tin [27].
1.5. Summary
All indications suggest that sludge production will
continue to increase, and now or later, many cities of the
world in both developed and developing countries have to
find a suitable solution for the disposal of the expected large
quantity of sludge. With the future of disposal through land-
filling and recycling in agriculture constrained, and disposal
to sea facing a ban, growing interest is now being directed
towards incineration and other thermal sludge disposal
processes.
2. Technologies for thermal processing of sewage sludge
2.1. Introduction
There are several technologies available, both in the
66 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 6. Different routes of thermal processing of sludge.
market and under development, for thermal processing of
sewage sludge. These technologies can be classified in
various ways [4042]. For the present discussion they
have been grouped into three categories, i.e. mono-incinera-
tion, co-combustion, and new and alternative thermal
processes (Fig. 6).
Several common factors are considered during the appli-
cations of these technologies for thermal processing of
sewage sludge. These include:
1. After incineration, up to 50 wt% of the input dry mass of
sewage sludge remains as ash and most of the toxic
heavy metals in sludge are retained, this complicates
ash disposal.
2. During drying, sewage sludge passes through a sticky
phase at around 5060 wt% dry matter when it can not
flow freely, this complicates the sludge drying process.
Fig. 7. Growth of sludge incineration plants in Japan, 19821988
(source: [26]).
3. The nitrogen, chlorine, sulphur, dioxin, furans, etc.
present in sludge are released as gaseous pollutants in
various forms during combustion, this necessitates
extensive flue gas cleaning to meet very strict emission
limits normally imposed on waste incineration.
4. With 7080 wt% moisture content, the net heating value
of mechanically dewatered sludge is not sufficient for
auto-thermal combustion, and supplementary fuel may
be necessary.
2.2. Mono-incineration technologies
The dominant mono-combustion furnaces for sewage
sludge are fluidized bed (FBC) and multiple hearth (MHF)
furnaces, although others, e.g. rotary kiln, cyclone and
different types of smelting furnaces are also used. For exam-
ple, in 1988, 151 sludge incineration plants were in opera-
Fig. 8. Multiple hearth furnace (source: [44]).
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
tion in Japan [26]. Of these, 72 units were multiple hearth
furnaces, 53 units were stationary fluidized bed combustors
and 20 units were rotary kilns (Fig. 7). In Germany, there are
currently 39 plants for combustion of sewage sludge. In 10
plants, sludge is co-combusted with municipal waste, 20
plants were mono-combustion units for municipal sewage
sludge and nine plants are used for industrial sludge incin-
eration [37]. Of the 39 plants, 70% of the units are bubbling
fluidized bed type. In USA, there were already 120 multiple
hearth sludge incinerators by 1970 [1] and currently MHF
are reported to represent 60% of the sludge incineration
plants there [36]. On the other hand, more than 100 fluidized
bed incinerating plants have been installed in the USA and
over 300 worldwide [43]. The situation in Japan shows a
more rapid increase of FBC furnaces during the 19821988
period (Fig. 7).
2.2.1. Multiple hearth furnaces
The first sludge incineration equipment in Europe is
reported to have been build in 1962 in Germany [44]. It
was a multiple hearth type (MHF), adopted from USA,
where the technology of sludge incineration had begun
earlier and the multiple hearth furnace was the dominant
type. The dimensions of the MHF are normally about 8 m
in diameter and a total height of 14 m consisting of 14
hearths. The sludge is fed at the top and is transported
from hearth to hearth by scrapers which are attached to a
rotating shaft (Fig. 8). In the upper hearths drying takes
place, followed by pyrolysis, combustion and ash-cooling.
The main advantage of MHF is the good internal energy
usage, since the hot flue gas comes directly into contact
with the sludge [44].
One major drawback to the use of MHFs for sludge treat-
ment is the cost associated with the frequent need for
supplementary fuel to sustain the incineration process
[36]. In the case of the old generation of MHF, operation
is also limited by the need to maintain the drying, combus-
tion and ash burnout/cooling zones in their proper places
within the furnace. If sludge begins to burn in the upper
hearths normally used for drying, volatiles will not be suf-
ficiently exposed to the combustion temperatures to ensure
their complete destruction. On the other hand, if sludge
combustion takes place in the lower hearths normally
reserved for ash burnout and cooling, the ash may not
cool enough to prevent damage to ash handling equipment
[36]. This former problem has been solved in current MHFs
in which the vapour from the drying zones is recirculated
back to the hot combustion zones and leaves the furnace at
higher temperatures (Fig. 8).
2.2.2. Fluidized bed combustors
Fluidized bed technology has been used since 1922, when
Fritz Winkler [45] patented the application of the technol-
ogy for gasification at BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Since then it has received wide applications. The technology
has earned itself a respected place in combustion area as an
67
efficient combustion system, having the ability to burn not
only coals but also low quality fuels and wastes. It has been
intensively used for municipal solid waste (MSW) incinera-
tion, and a substantial experience base now exists, particu-
larly in Japan, North America and Western Europe [46]. In
Japan, e.g. the Ebara Corporation had installed 50 fluidized
bed combustion systems firing municipal solid wastes and
10 units firing a variety of industrial solid, liquid and sludge
wastes by 1993 [46]. By 1995, over 100 bubbling fluidized
bed units were reported by Wheeler et al. [47] to be operat-
ing in Japan firing 100% MSW, with the largest single unit
having a capacity of 6.25 t/hr.
In the USA, application of fluidized beds for the incinera-
tion of municipal sludge and industrial waste began in the
early 1960s [43]. In Europe, the first fluidized bed sludge
incinerator was installed in 1964 in Germany for the
combustion of refinery sludge, and one year later another
one was installed in Switzerland for the combustion of
municipal sewage sludge [48]. Since then, the use of FBC
for sludge incineration has rapidly expanded. In Germany,
fluidized bed furnaces are operated at Stuttgart, Ulm, Frank-
furt (Hoechst AG), Ludwigshafen (BASF AG), Uerdingen
(Bayer AG), Wuppertal, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Berlin-
Marienfelde, Karlsruhe and Berlin-Ruhleben [37, 223].
Another one is currently being commissioned in Hamburg.
Generally, both mechanically dewatered (wet) and predried
sludge can be incinerated in FBC combustors. The Berlin-
Ruhleben and Roundhill plant in U.K. (Fig. 9) are examples
of the two cases.
Figure 9(a) shows a schematic diagram of the fluidized
bed incinerator at the Berlin-Ruhleben plant in Germany
burning wet sludge. In the plant, the 5000 m 3/day sludge
(23.5 wt% d.m.) from their wastewater treatment plant is
dewatered to 2428 wt% d.m. and then with piston pumps
fed into the combustors. The plant has three incinerating
units each having four feed points. Each unit can take a
maximum of 3.7 t/hr of dry sludge, equivalent to 15 t/hr
wet sludge with 25 wt% d.m. To control odour, combustion
air is drawn from odour generation points in the plant.
Industrial oil is used as a supplementary fuel to maintain
the 35 ton bed of sand at 750C and the freeboard at 850C.
The flue gas leaves the furnace at 850870C, and waste
heat is recovered in a boiler and air preheater. The flue gas
cleaning system includes electrostatic precipitators and wet
scrubbing. About 45 t/day of ash is generated and with the
help of the wet flue gas desulphurization (FGD) unit, SO2
emissions are reduced from 2500 mg/m 3 to less than 30 mg/
m 3 in the flue gas leaving. In the FGD unit, 2.5 t/day CaO is
consumed and some 7 t/day gypsum is formed [37, 49].
Figure 9(b) shows the flow diagram of the 16 000 t/a dry
sludge incinerating plant at Roundhill supplied and commis-
sioned by Dorr-Oliver to the Severn Trent Water, UK, 1993.
Dewatered sludge with 2325 wt% d.m. is dried to 34 wt%,
and then mixed with screens and fed into the combustor. The
combustion air is preheated to 650C and the plant is
equipped with a spray drier to remove acid gases, bag filter
68 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Fig. 9. (a) Fluidized bed incinerator [37]. (b) Flow diagram of the Roundhill pre-dried sludge incinerating plant [35].

to remove ash and wet scrubber for more efficient wet phase composition or water contents are stabilized by the large
removal of acid gases and heavy metals. With these units, heat reservoir. Thirdly, there is a very low inventory of
the plant meets the strict EC and the German 17th BImSchV fuel or carbon in the bed which permits start-ups and shut-
emission standards. The plant was reported to be the first downs in a matter of minutes when the combustor is near its
large incinerator built by Dorr-Oliver in the U.K. and is
reported to be broadly similar to the 190 or so sludge incin-
erators the company has built in USA and worldwide [35].
The success of FBC technology for sewage sludge
combustion has been attributed to the following advantages
[43]. First, the intimate mixing in the bed with its resulting
high turbulence and the large surface area of the inert bed
material available for heat transfer provide virtually
complete combustion at relatively low temperatures and
excess air levels (2550%). The residence time of the
large lumps of sewage sludge in the hot bed is long enough
to ensure sufficient burn-out of the sludge. The freeboard,
which acts like a post-combustion chamber, provides
complete thermal destruction of the organic substances.
Secondly, the large inventory of hot inert bed material
acts as a thermal flywheel preventing sudden temperature
changes, since any short-time major variations in the sludge Fig. 10. Etagenwirbler of Lurgi [50].
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 69

Table 9
Installation list of melting furnaces in Japan (source: [26])

Place Type Capacity Year of commissioning

Commercial plants
Hyogo-(West) ACE Coke-bed 40 t/day, d.m. 1989, 1993
Osaka-(North-East) ACE Coke-bed 10 t/day, d.m. 1989
Toyama-Futagami Film surface 5.3 t/day, 12 t/day, d.m. 1988, 1994
Osaka-(South) ACE Film surface 25 t/day, 12.5 t/day, d.m. 1990, 1991
Osaka-Central Coke-bed 70 t/day, 110 t/day, wet 1990, 1995
Chiba-Central Cyclone 15 t/day, wet 1987
Kawasaki-Kaze Arc 12.3 t/day, d.m. 1981
Tokyo-South (Nanbu) Cyclone 160 t/day, wet 1991
Shiga-Konan Cyclone 40 t/day, wet 1990
Kagoshima Cyclone 3 t/day, d.m. 1990
Kyoto-Toba Cyclone 150 t/day, wet 1995
Nagasaki-Sasebo Cyclone 35 t/day, wet 1995
Test plants
Kakogawa Cyclone 50 t/day, wet 19871991
Yokohama-North Cyclone 15 t/day, wet 19891993
Toyohashi-Nakajima Cyclone 15 t/day, wet since 1992

operating temperature. This characteristic, and the slow rate
of bed cooling of about 5C/hr, permits intermittent opera-
tion if desirable. Fourth, a major maintenance cost for most
incinerators is repair and replacement of the refractory. In
fluidized bed units, the large inventory of the bed material
acts as a thermal flywheel which eliminates thermal shock
and resultant damage to the refractory. A number of flu-
idized bed incinerators have been in operation for over 20
years with no replacement of the refractory. This factor,
together with the absence of moving parts in the hot zone,
results in low maintenance cost.
2.2.3. Etagenwirbler of Lurgi
An intermediate design which combines advantages of
both the multiple hearth furnace and the fluidized bed
furnace is the Etagenwirbler by Lurgi which is sche-
matically shown in Fig. 10. It uses a multiple hearth unit
on top of a fluidized bed furnace for pre-drying. The pre-
drying step allows the furnace to be operated without addi-
tional fuel [50].
A furnace of this type has been operating at Frankfurts
sewage treatment plant since 1981. The combustor has a
capacity of 2 t/hr dry mass and consists of five hearths.
Wet sludge with 2830 wt% dry matter is fed to the upper-
most hearth, and 5060% of the flue gas is drawn from the
freeboard of the FBC part and used for drying. The last
hearth acts as a feeder and spreads the pre-dried sludge
lumps uniformly across the bed. During the drying on the
hearths, 50% of the sludge moisture is removed. This has
enabled a reduction of the grate area of the plant at Frankfurt
by 50% compared to conventional FBC incinerators. The
vapours from the drying region are returned to the bed
where they are deodorized. At the flue gas cleaning stage,
ash is removed in the waste heat boiler and the electrostatic
precipitator (ESP). Thereafter, the flue gas undergoes a two-
stage wet scrubbing. The second scrubbing stage operates at
temperatures below the dew point (5560C) to enable the
condensation of all the vapour (5 t/hr) in the flue gas drawn
from the combustion system Etagenwirbler.
2.2.4. Smelting furnaces
The main shortcoming of the furnaces which operate at
temperatures below the melting point of the sludge ash is the
large quantity of ash formed. The ash is contaminated with a
high concentration of heavy metals, and is thus expensive to
dispose and requires special and expensive filling sites.
Smelting technologies are aimed at solving the ash problem
during sludge incineration. Here, pre-dried sludge is incin-
erated at temperatures in excess of the melting point of the
ash, leading to not only complete thermal destruction of the
organic substances in the sludge but also to the formation of
a molten ash whose density is twothree times greater than
that of incinerated sludge ash, which results in a significant
reduction in volume. Furthermore, melting converts the ash
into a glasslike or crystallized material in which the heavy
metals are bound in a stable state where they are no longer
leachable and thus the slag can be used in construction
works [25, 26, 39]. A rapid increase in smelting plants is
being witnessed in Japan, where in 1988 there were only
three large scale sewage sludge smelting plants but by 1993
already more than 15 plants were reported operating or
under construction (Table 9). The Nanbu sewage sludge
smelting plant in Tokyo South is the largest plant in Japan
and has been in operation since 1991. It handles 160 ton/day
of wet sludge (20 wt% d.m.), which is pre-dried to 80 wt%
d.m., crushed and thereafter fed into the cyclone smelting
furnace. The furnace is co-fired with gas and maintained at
70 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 11. Flow sheet of the cycloid furnace of Hugo Petersen [54].
14001500C. Waste heat is recovered in boiler and air
preheater. Steam from the boiler is used for sludge drying.
Several small German companies are also trying to popu-
larize sewage sludge smelting technology in the European
market. For example, Klein Energietechnik [51] plans to
bring to the market small sewage sludge smelting furnaces
of capacity 0.5 t/day dry sludge suitable for small and
medium size wastewater treatment plants. Pre-dried and
milled sewage sludge will be fired in a suspension tangen-
tially through two burners into the cyclone furnace. The
sludge particles would then attach themselves to the sticky
layer of the melting ash as they burn at a furnace tempera-
ture of 1500C and the melted ash formed cooled. The
melted ash can be used in road construction, as sandblast
materials or high temperature insulating material. Another
company, Kanzler Verfahrenstechnik [52] is reported to
have a large scale sludge smelting plant in Holland using
a glass melting bath into which pre-dried sludge is fed. The
heat released from sludge combustion helps to maintain the
smelting furnace at the required 1200C. The ash formed
together with its heavy metals are bonded in the glass struc-
ture and find use in the construction industry. Seiler Trenn-
Schmelzanalagen Betriebs GmbH [53] offers a furnace in
which powdered pre-dried sludge is combusted in burners
with the ash smelted in a flame at a temperature of 2000C.
Since April 1996, a large scale plant is being constructed in
Freiburg, Germany with a capacity of 10 000 t/a. It is
expected to be commissioned early 1998.
2.2.5. Rotary kilns
The rotary kiln has proved its worth for industrial
processes, e.g. cement production and drying. For sewage
sludge incineration it has been popularly used in Japan,
where in 1988 some 20 units were in operation for sewage
sludge incineration [26]. Looking at the statistics, the
number of rotary furnaces in Japan has not increased
much, indicating that it is not as competitive as MHF and
fluidized bed furnaces for sewage sludge combustion.
Generally, a rotary furnace consists of a steel drum lined
internally with high resistance refractory materials. The
furnace structure is inclined and rotates at a low speed.
Through its rotation, sewage sludge is both turned and
conveyed, and consequently passes through varying
temperature zones where drying, devolatilization, combus-
tion and the cooling of the ash take place [48]. The combus-
tion takes place at around 8001000C, and energy recovery
from the flue gas and ash cooling is used for air preheating
and process steam generation. The efficiency of sludge burn-
out is reported by Loll [48] not to be sufficiently high, since
during rotation sludge spheres are formed which agglomer-
ate with the outer surface burnt and sintered, whereas the
inside remains unburned.
2.2.6. Cyclone furnaces
A German company, Hugo Petersen GmbH [54], has
recently come up with small units for sewage sludge
combustion of capacities 300/600/1200 kg/hr dry sludge
suitable for 50 000200 000 population equivalent. The
main part of the system is a cyclone furnace into which
primary and secondary air as well as the pre-dried sludge
particles are fed tangentially. This creates a rotating gas flux,
enabling a long residence time and complete combustion of
the sludge particles in the furnace. The unit is furnished with
a fluidized bed dryer for sewage sludge predrying (Fig. 11).
The exhaust gas of the sludge dryer is fed to the cyclone
as the combustion air. The flue gas treatment includes dry
scrubbing using Ca(OH)2, baghouse filter and activated coal
adsorber (to reduce heavy metals and dioxin and furans
emissions).
2.3. Co-combustion technologies
Apart from the mono-combustion which is state-of-the-
art for sludge combustion, it is possible to co-fire sewage
sludge in coal power plants, municipal wastes incineration
plants and other processes. In most cases, the sewage sludge
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 12. BASFs CarboSed process for sludge drying and co-combustion in a coal-fired power station [37].
contributes only a small part of the plants capacity so that
the process or product is not adversely affected. The advan-
tages of co-firing mentioned in the literature [37, 55] include
the following. Firstly, the use of the available capacity of the
combustion plant with well-trained and experienced person-
nel to handle it. This can provide a reliable short term dispo-
sal opportunity especially in cases where obtaining approval
for the construction of a sewage sludge incinerator is long
and tedious. For co-firing with municipal wastes in existing
waste incinerators, no extra approval is required. Secondly,
modern coal power stations are currently equipped with a
flue gas cleaning facility which should be able to handle the
expected increase in emissions during co-firing with sewage
sludge [37, 55].
2.3.1. Co-combustion in coal-fired power plants
For co-incineration of sewage sludge with coal, fuel
preparation, modification of the combustion system and
handling of pollutant by-products may need to be consid-
ered. In most coal co-fired plants, the sludge must be pre-
dried, and for pulverized coal furnaces, milling of the sludge
is necessary. For coal power plants, drying may obviously
impose extra financial and technical input in terms of energy
requirements and other facilities necessary for handling of
the condensate, odour, dust and CO emissions associated
with sewage sludge drying. Dried sludge also requires
special handling know-how during transportation, feeding
and storage, since apart from odour generation, dried sludge
dusts show high potential for self-ignition, and are explosive
as a dustair mixture. The high contents of nitrogen, sulphur
and heavy metals are likely to lead to an increase in the
emissions of NOx, SO2 and heavy metals during co-combus-
tion and furthermore, due to co-firing, a coal power plant
may be subjected to more strict emission limits than
normally applicable in coal power plants (see Section 4).
2.3.1.1. Co-combustion in pulverized coal power
stations. In pulverized coal power plants, the coal is
pulverized so that 90% of the particles are below 75 mm,
and then carried in an air suspension to arrays of large
71
burners firing into the combustion chamber. Several
burner and firing modes are used to enable high efficiency
combustion and low emissions. The sewage sludge for co-
combustion is dried, pulverized and pneumatically fed to the
burners. The sewage sludge can be preblended with coal and
fed together, or the two fuels can be fed separately if
multifuel burners are used. The sludge incineration takes
place at high temperature, and the ash from sludge and
coal is removed in a molten form. When burnt with
bituminous coal, the boilers can only tolerate sewage
sludge with water contents of up to 10 wt%. However, in
the case of boilers firing brown coal, sludge moisture
contents of up to 4050 wt% are acceptable, because the
boilers are designed to operate with relatively high
moisture fuels [37, 56].
Co-combustion of sewage sludge in pulverized coal
power plants is reported for the Ludwigshafen site of the
BASF AG in Germany. The plant has been operating since
1984 parallel to the three fluidized bed sludge incinerators
which were commissioned in 1974 [37]. Figure 12 shows
the flow sheet of the process. The sludge is mixed with coal
and a flocculating agent for conditioning before it is dewa-
tered in filter presses. The filter cake is then dried in a rotary
drum before being introduced into the pulverized coal
combustor. The combustor co-fires 16 t/hr of sludge,
25 wt% dry mass with coal.
Currently, not much information has been published on
the BASF plant concerning the effect of co-firing which
could be shared with the public. However, some long-term
tests of co-combustion of sewage sludge in existing pulver-
ized coal combustors have been reported. Within the APAS
Clean Coal Technology Programme of the EC, long term
tests were carried out by Saarbergwerke AG at their
300 MW capacity (electrical) power plant Weiher, near
Saarbrucken, Germany [57]. During the more than 2000 hr
of plant operation tests, some 4000 tons of dried sludge was
co-fired in one of the four boilers. The portion of dried
sewage sludge added to the coal in the boiler was gradually
raised from an initial value of 2% to approximately 20%.
The results show no significant deviation in the operation of
72 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Table 10 2.3.1.2. Co-combustion in fluidized bed

Ahlstrom Pyropower (now Foster Wheeler) CFB boilers for co- combustors. Currently, the authors have been unable to
firing paper sludges [65] find much information on large scale co-firing of sewage
sludge in coal-fired fluidized bed combustors. However,
Project Fuel type
abundant experience is available in large scale co-firing of
Hylte Bruks AB, Sweden Wood waste, coal, sludge biomass [59, 60] and paper mill sludges [6164] in coal-
(deinking, pulp mill) fired fluidized bed combustors. The experience, particularly
Patria Papier and Zellstoff AG, Bark, brown coal, sludge from the reported large scale co-firing of paper mill sludges,
Austria (paper mill, municipal) is important due to their close structural similarity with
Enso-Gutzeit, Finland Wood waste, coal, pulp/paper sewage sludge. For example, a 220 t/hr CFB boiler for co-
mill sludge firing paper sludge with coal was commissioned in 1996 in
Stora Billerud Fors AB, Sweden Wood waste, paper mill
China [61]. Another example is the EcoEnergy Bubbling
sludge
Metsaliiton Teollisuus Oy, Wood waste, paper mill
Fluidized Bed Combustion Boiler at the Golbey Paper
Finland sludge Mill, France, in which bark and sawdust are co-fired with
Lenzing AG, Austria Wood waste, coal, pulp/paper paper mill sludges. The boiler was commissioned in 1993
mill sludge and produces about 35 t/hr saturated steam at 26 bar [62]. In
PH Glatfelter, U.S.A. Wood waste, coal, paper mill Lenzing, Austria, the consortium Austrian Energy and Lurgi
sludge Lentjes Babcock was awarded a contract to build a 110 MW
Kainun Voima, Finland Bark, peat, paper mill sludge CFB plant to co-combust Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) as the
Southeast Paper, U.S.A. Coal, deinking sludge main fuel with rejects, sewage sludge, wood waste and coal
Enso-Gutzeit, Finland Wood waste, coal, paper mill [63]. The sewage sludge with 30 wt% dry matter will be fed
sludge
at the return leg of the combustor, whereas the light fractions
Papierfabrik Perlen, Switzerland Wood waste, deinking sludge
Papierfabrik Untzenstork, Wood waste, deinking sludge
(RDF, packing materials, rejects and wood wastes) will be
Switzerland milled and fed into the combustor pneumatically. The plant
will be commissioned in 1998. In USA, early in 1992,
Champion International Corporation in Sheldon, TX,
the plant during co-combustion. In comparison to coal- contracted Tampella Power, now Kvaerner Pulping, to
firing, no changes were visibly noticed in the flow of the upgrade their bark burning boiler by replacing the lowest
molten slag during co-firing. The operation of the ESP was part of the grate with a new bubbling fluidized bed grate
even improved due to the increased vapour concentration in [64]. After the retrofit, the boiler produced about 90 t/hr of
the flue gas resulting from the drying operation. However, steam at 60 bar and 441C by co-firing paper sludges mixed
they observed substantial material wear and tear of the with waste wood. A wealth of experience has been
extracting equipment for handling pre-dried sludge. Another accumulated by Ahlstrom Pyropower (now Foster
test of co-combustion of sewage sludge was undertaken in Wheeler) [65] which has built several CFB boilers co-
the 88 MW burner test facility in Rolls Royce International firing paper sludges and other wastes worldwide, as shown
Combustion, Derby, UK to assess the effect of co-firing of in Table 10.
sewage sludge on the flame performance of a commercial Tests of co-firing of sewage sludge in large scale FBC
pulverized coal burner [58]. At a nominal total firing rate of coal combustors as well as experiments in laboratory-scale
10 MW, a co-firing ratio of 30% was established. No test units indicate that just like paper mill sludges, sewage
adverse effect was observed on combustion. sludge can be successfully co-fired in a fluidized bed. The

Fig. 13. A simplified flow diagram of sewage sludge co-combustion with brown coal in a circulating fluidized bed (source: [66]).
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 73

Table 11
Quantity of waste incinerated in various countries (source: [69])

Country Amount of waste incinerated % of waste incinerated No. of MSW incinerators

(in 1000 t/a)

Austria 300 18 2
Canada 1100 4 13
Denmark 1500 70 48
France 6395 40 260
Germany 9300 23 49
Italy 2000 10 54
Japan 37 582 73 1841
Netherlands 2805 46 11
Norway 440 23 50
Sweden 1550 55 22
Switzerland 2300 80 48
U.K. 2780 10 33
U.S.A. 28 900 16 152

major test is the one year co-firing mechanically dewatered
sludge with brown coal undertaken by Rheinbraun AG in
their CFB power plant at Ville-Berrenrath, Germany with a
capacity of 93 t/hr brown coal (Fig. 13).
The tests were conducted through the EU research
programme Joule II, and were aimed at obtaining data on
the environmental implication of disposing sewage sludge
through co-combustion in the plant as a precondition for
obtaining approval for co-firing sewage sludge in their
coal power plant. The sludge, with 30 wt% solid content,
was fed together with brown coal in the ash return leg of the
combustor. The test gave very good results as concerns the
combustion and emission characteristics. The tests showed
that the emissions of SO2, NOx, CO and particulate were
lower than the limits imposed based on the application of
both regulations for coal and waste combustion. Due to the
fact that the content of the ash for sludge is higher than that
of brown coal, the quality of ash increased, but analysis
showed that the concentrations of the heavy metals were
relatively low and ash could be classified as inert. However,
Hg emissions were expected to increase due to the increased
input of Hg. This necessitated additional investment on
venturi adsorber (which is loaded with brown coal coke)
for Hg removal from the flue gas. The adsorber is installed
after the ESP. The sulphuric acid medium required for the
chemical adsorption of the Hg on the char was achieved by
trapping the SO2 in the flue gas (100 mg/m 3). A Hg reduc-
tion of 95% was achieved. Based on these positive results, a
permit was given in November 1995 for the co-combustion
of 65 000 t/a dry mass of sewage sludge with coal [66].
At laboratory and technical scale levels, Probst [67] has
reported successful experience of co-firing sewage sludge
with coal in semi-pilot scale 0.3 MW and 10.8 MW
bubbling fluidized bed combustors, and Philippek [68] has
co-fired mechanically dewatered sludge in a 100 mm
diameter and 15 m high CFBC test rig. In the former case,
tests were done using sewage sludge and coal on one hand,
and a fuelgranulate mixture of sewage sludge, coal and
limestone on the other. Co-firing was successful, although
it was reported that the co-combustion of pre-dried sewage
sludge with coal in shallow bed-type stationary FBC
furnaces led to high fly ash deposition and adhesions in
the furnace top, and hot gas duct areas and a decrease in
burn-out efficiency. It is thought that increasing the free-

Fig. 14. Principle alternatives process routes for co-combustion of sewage sludge with municipal wastes (source: [44]).
74 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 12
Some examples of grate firing systems for co-combustion of sewage sludge with municipal solid waste in Japan (source: [70])
Plant location Year of construction
Seibu, Kanazawa 1980
Tobu No. 1 1981
Oogaki city 1982
Fujisawa city 1983
Sapporo 1983
Tobu No.2 1985
Full scale test 1985
board height and installing a hot gas cyclone for the fly ash
separation would improve combustion efficiency. The
laboratory experiments undertaken by Philippek [68]
showed that the emissions of CO and N2O increased with
an increase in the percentage ratio of sludge during co-
firing. Here too, if a hot cyclone would provide sufficiently
long gas residence time under sufficiently high temperature,
the emissions of CO and N2O might be lowered.
2.3.2. Co-incineration with municipal solid wastes
Co-incineration with municipal solid wastes has the
objective of reducing the combined costs of incinerating
sludge and solid wastes. The process can generate sufficient
heat energy necessary for drying the sludge, supporting the
combustion of solid wastes and sludge, and generating
process steam, if desired without the use of auxiliary fossil
fuels [48]. Furthermore, co-firing of sewage sludge with
MSW could use the capacities of several MSW incinerators
available with modern flue gas cleaning technology.
Currently, there are 10 units in Germany in which sludge
is co-incinerated with MSW [37], although it is thought that
most of the MSW incinerators currently operate at full cap-
acity and may not provide the opportunity for co-incinera-
tion with sewage sludge [44]. Where this is true, new MSW
incinerators could be planned with co-firing in mind. Statis-
tics show that the percentage of waste incinerated is still low
Fig. 15. Co-incineration of dry sludge with solid waste at Ingolstadt
plant [72].
Sludge burnt in Waste burnt in Drier used
t/hr dry mass t/hr dry mass
2.04 12.5 flash drier
0.42 12.5 rotary drier
1 3.75 rotary drier
0.7 6.25 rotary drier
4.2 2.1 steam drier
0.9 6.25 rotary drier
3.5 12.5 flash drier
in most countries (Table 11). It is only in Denmark, Japan,
Sweden and Switzerland that more than 50% of the waste
generated is incinerated.
Based on the current level of technology, three principle
alternative process routes for co-combustion of sewage
sludge with municipal wastes have been suggested (Fig. 14).
In the first two routes, typical for grate firing, the heat
from the waste is used to produce steam which can be
utilized for thermal conditioning and/or drying of sludge.
The predrying enables the solid contents of the sludge to
correspond to that of the waste, which is around 5565%, to
increase the heating values of the sludge and enable auto-
thermal combustion. The third process normally employs
MHF or fluidized bed, and requires crushing of the wastes
into smaller particles, mixing with the wet sludge and feed-
ing into the combustion chamber.
2.3.2.1. Co-incineration in grate furnaces. The grate
furnace appears to be the most used for co-firing of
sewage sludge with municipal solid wastes (MWS). Table
12 shows a list of eight large scale grate firing plants in
which pre-dried sewage sludge is co-fired with different
types of MWS in Japan [70]. In the combustion facility in
Sapporo, sewage sludge pre-dried to 60 wt% dry mass is co-
fired with timber wastes at 800900C. It has a heat
recovery boiler in which superheated steam at 300C and
1.9 MPa is produced [71]. Another example of co-firing in a
grate furnace is the plant of Ingolstadt, Germany (Fig. 15),
where a fluidized bed drier supplied by Sulzer Escher Wyss
[72] is used to produce dry sludge granules for co-firing with
solid wastes.
Hitachi Zosen and von Roll have teamed up and come up
with a pilot scale Hitachi-Zosen-von Roll (HZ-VR) co-firing
system for sewage sludge and municipal wastes. The
outstanding feature of this plant is that the pre-dried sludge
is milled, pulverized and thereafter carried in a suspension
of combustion air into a pulverized sludge burner placed
adjacent to the lower part of the grate. A test run was
conducted with 1250 kg/hr waste and 360 kg/hr sludge,
i.e. a sludge ratio of 29% and good combustion efficiency
were achieved [73].
2.3.2.2. Co-incineration in MHF and FBC furnaces. Co-
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 16. Combustion of wastes and sewage sludge in a combined grate and MHF [44].
incineration of sewage sludge with wastes in multiple hearth
furnaces is another widespread technique. In the early
1970s, co-incineration of wet sludge in multiple hearth
furnaces was popularly practised [48]. Sewage sludge was
fed in the top for pre-drying, whereas municipal waste, after
being crushed, milled and the metallic parts removed, was
fed directly into the devolatilization zone. This arrangement
functioned well, except for a lot of odour generation from
the sludge-drying stage which discouraged its application.
For new plants, a combination of grate and multiple hearth
furnaces for co-incineration of municipal solid wastes and
sewage sludge (Fig. 16) is recommended [44]. The wastes
are burnt in the grate furnace, whereas the sludge is burnt in
the multiple hearth furnace. The flue gas from the grate
furnace provides the energy for drying and combusting the
wet sludge. This principle is used at Marktoberdorf,
Germany, where 2.5 and 1.0 t/hr waste and sludge,
respectively, are co-fired.
2.3.3. Co-combustion of sewage sludge in other processes
2.3.3.1. Co-combustion of sewage sludge in clay brick
manufacture. The ancient Egyptians realized that the
addition of chopped straw to the wet clay improved the
structural strength of the product, and since then other
additives have been used to improve both the strength and
durability of the bricks. Also, in an endeavour to reduce the
energy demand for the firing of raw brick, several organic
substances including sawdust, coal dust and waste oil have
been added to clay. In the kiln after attaining
Fig. 17. Flow diagram of a cement production process.
75
devolatilization temperature, the biomass burns releasing
energy and partially heating up the bricks [7476].
At Port Elizabeth municipality, South Africa, the 45 t/day
thermally conditioned and centrifuge-dewatered sludge
from its wastewater treatment plant is all consumed in a
brickworks 15 km away [74]. At the brickworks, 30% by
volume of sludge is blended with clay for the production of
stock bricks (commons), and between 5 and 8% for face
bricks. The mixture is crushed, milled, homogenized and
thereafter sliced into bricks of conventional lengths. The
bricks obtained are dried and then tracked into a tunnel
kiln, where they are further dried, and upon attaining a
temperature of 150C, the organic matter in the sludge
begins to burn causing a rapid increase in the bricks
temperature to 800C. At the point along the kiln where
the sludge has completely burnt and the temperature gradi-
ent decreases, an external fuel is burnt to raise the tempera-
ture to 960C. The appearance of the bricks made from clay
mixed with sludge is reported to be excellent, being uniform
in colour and texture, and free from extensive cracks. They
are indistinguishable in both appearance and odour from
conventional bricks. The reported average compressive
strength was 40.7 and 38.3 MPa, for face brick and stock
bricks, respectively, which complies with the South African
Bureau of Standard requirements (SABS, 1986), which is
17.0 and 14.0 MPa, respectively. The 24-hr water absorp-
tion test results (SABS, 1986) were found to be around 13%,
and were reported to be 30% higher than results obtained
from similar locally made bricks with no sludge. However,
the absorption was not expected to present problems for the
76 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 13
Comparison of the composition of sludge ash with those of cements
Cement Sewage sludge ash
No liming 0.3 kg CaO/kg
SiO2 2124 3049 1930
Al2O3 46 815 510
Fe2O3 34 523 314
CaO 6466 922 4351
MgO 1.5 12 0.51
The numbers are in wt% dry mass [40].
use of the brick. On the contrary, it was considered advanta-
geous, since the high absorption would lead to better mortar
adhesions. A fuel saving of about 55 litres of fuel oil per
1000 bricks made is achieved through the use of sewage
sludge. A similar process is under development in Hamburg,
Germany [224].
From Russia, Komissarov et al. [75] have also reported
obtaining bricks of relatively good quality using industrial
sludge from a tanning process at a laboratory level. Samples,
measuring 25 50 5 mm, were prepared by mixing clay
soil with different quantities of the sludge up to 40 wt%, and
after drying, the samples were annealed at 950, 1000 and
1050C. The bricks obtained showed qualities comparable
to those obtained in South Africa. The results show that the
compression strength of the brick decreases with the sludge
ratio in the clay, but improves with an increase in the kilns
temperature.
2.3.3.2. Co-combustion of sewage sludge in cement
kilns. In a simplified form, the cement production
process may be considered to consist of five stages (Fig.
17). First, the raw materials (limestone, clay, etc.) are
dried, crushed and milled, so that 90% of the materials
have particle diameters less than 90 mm. The prepared
materials are then carried in an air suspension with the
flue gas and separated in the electro-filter (ESP) such that
the exhaust gas has a dust concentration of less than 50 mg/
m 3. In the third stage, the separated material is carried in
dustgas suspension to a battery of cyclones where it is
preheated to 800850C, before entering the rotary kiln
where cement formation takes place at a peak gas
temperature of 18002000C. The cement formed is
thereafter cooled with the incoming combustion air which
is preheated to 850C. Two separate firings may be
employed, main firing and secondary firing. The former
provides the energy necessary for the rotary kiln, whereas
secondary firing may be required to provide sufficient gas
temperature at the entrance of the cyclone preheaters.
Through funding from Holderbank Management and
Beratung AG, Lang and Obrist [77] undertook a two week
test of co-firing of sewage sludge in a large cement industry
in Austria during which 280 t sewage sludge was success-
fully co-fired. These tests together with other experience
0.4 kg CaO/kg 0.5 kg CaO/kg
1525 1016
48 35
312 28
5561 7073
0.51 0.51
enabled them to draw the following conclusions: pre-dried
sludge can be co-fired with coal in main firing or secondary
firing stages, although experience shows that co-firing of
sewage sludge in the secondary stage results in incomplete
combustion of the sludge particles and higher CO emissions.
As a rule of thumb, the maximal sewage sludge feed rate
should not be more than 5% of the clinker production cap-
acity of the cement plant. Consequently, for a 2000 t/day
cement kiln, a maximum of 100 t/day dry sludge might be
used. The quality of the clinker does not worsen due to
the combustion of sewage sludge. In terms of emissions,
the suspended fine limestone particles are effective in the
removal of acidic gaseous pollutants from sludge combus-
tion. The heavy metals from sludge are adsorbed on the
particles and returned into the kiln after separation in the
E-filter. However, one may expect clogging of the cyclone
pre-warmer if the sludge has more than 0.20.5% Cl. If
sewage sludge is intended to be co-fired in cement works,
then lime stabilization may be recommended. Peschen [40]
has shown that the ash from lime stabilized and conditioned
sludge, normally 0.30.5 kg CaO/kg dry sludge, has com-
positions closer to those of cements (Table 13).
2.4. Alternative technologies for thermal processing of
sewage sludge
There are several driving forces for the search for alterna-
tive technologies to mono-combustion of sewage sludge, the
most important among them being the large quantity of flue
gas and ash formed during sewage sludge combustion.
Considering the obligatory intensive post-combustion flue
gas cleaning during sewage sludge combustion, the flue gas
volume becomes an important parameter since it determines
the sizes of the flue gas treatment plants, and consequently the
capital and operational cost of flue gas cleaning. The disposal
of the large quantity of ash formed also increases the cost of
sludge incineration. The alternative processes are thus aimed
at reducing both the quantity of ash and flue gas volume.
For example, the flue gas volume decreases drastically
when changing from combustion to gasification since CO2
and H2O, internally formed, participate in the reaction and
the unwanted N2 may be avoided by supplying pure oxygen.
Comparison by Steier [78] shows that whereas during
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 77

Table 14
Technologies for wet oxidation of sludge [87]

Process Temp, C Pressure, MPa Oxidizer Reactor type Area of use References

LOPROX 190 1.7 Pure O2 In-vessel Wastewater treatment many plants in BAYER
companies
MODAR 600 25 Air In-vessel Hazardous waste treatment laboratory unit
Osaka Gas 250 9 Air In-vessel Wastewater and sludge laboratory unit
treatment
OXIDINE 288 13.8 Pure O2 Deep-well Wastewater treatment
OXIDINE 455 26 Pure O2 Deep-well Wastewater treatment
VerTech 280 10.4 Pure O2 Deep-well Wastewater and sludge Longmont (U.S.A.)
treatment Apeldoorn (NL)
WETOX 237 4.2 In-vessel Wastewater treatment
ZIMPRO 260 912 Air In-vessel Sludge conditioning 200 plants in Europe, U.S.A.,
Japan
KENOX 250 5 Pure O2 In-vessel Wastewater treatment Ontario-Canada
Stigsnas 300 11 Liquid O2 In-vessel Wastewater treatment Stignas Indust. Estates

mono- and co-combustion of sewage sludge, 2430 m 3 of
flue gas is released per kg dry sludge burnt, the figure drops
drastically to only 1.7 m 3 for gasification with supply of
pure oxygen. Furthermore, the product of gasification,
synthesis gas, is a useful raw material for chemical indus-
tries apart from being fuel. Another alternative process is
pyrolysis, in which thermal decomposition of the organic
matter takes place without supply of air. During pyrolysis,
the organic matter of the sludge is converted to useful
fuelpyrolysis gas, and the low temperature of operation
eliminates the formation of SO2 and NOx [7981]. The
remaining char, with the heavy metals strongly bonded in
its matrix, can be disposed in sanitary landfilling, used as
adsorber for gas cleaning or burnt to supply the energy for
pyrolysis [82]. Apart from the gas and char, there is also oil
which is produced, and several oil from sludge (OFS)
projects are available. Another technology meant to reduce
the cost of flue gas treatment during thermal processing of
sewage sludge is the oxidation of the organic substance in
sludge under aqueous conditionswet oxidationduring
which no flue gas treatment is required.
To reduce the quantity of ash for disposal, high tempera-
ture processes in which the ash is removed in a molten form
are considered. Such technologies include smelting and high
temperature gasification. Other technologies which are also
promising are combinations of the three processes, i.e.
pyrolysis, combustion and gasification. These are briefly
discussed in this sub-section.
2.4.1. Wet oxidation of sewage sludge
Wet oxidation of sewage sludge is a thermal process
which takes place in an aqueous phase at temperatures of
150330C and pressures of 122 MPa using pure or at-
mospheric oxygen. Significant information about the
process is available, e.g. Hall [83], Boon and Thomas
[84], van Voorneburg and van Veen [85], Hudson and
Lowe [86], and VerTech Prospect [87]. The high pressure
is needed to prevent boiling at the temperatures required for

Fig. 18. The VerTech system [84].

78 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 15
Comparison of oil yields (kg/kg daf sludge) from various groups [88]
Process Tubingen Environmental
temp., C University Canada
300 25 a 40
350 18 e
400
450 32 e 36 g
500
600
700
a
Dependent on origin of sludge.
b
Laboratory fluidized bed.
c
Measured in lab. fluidized bed.
d
If unaccounted for, equal to oil.
e
Small batch units.
f
Small bench fluidized bed.
g
Continuous laboratory unit.
the process. During the process, the organic matter in
sewage sludge is thermally degraded, hydrolysed, oxidized
and converted to carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen. There
are two distinct regimes of operation of wet oxidation; the
first occurring at sub-critical conditions below 374C and a
pressure of 10 MPa, the second at super-critical conditions
which occur at temperatures in excess of 374C and a pres-
sure of 21.8 MPa. The sub-critical conditions are easily
achieved and the reactions controlled, and as a result various
processes are commercially available (Table 14). The high
pressure required can be achieved in in-vessel technology
(above the ground) or deep-well technology.
Substantial information concerning the VerTech wet
oxidation plant for sewage sludge at Apeldoorn, The Neth-
erlands is available [8487]. The VerTech system was
tested for the first time in 1973 on a laboratory scale and
later in 1982/1983 on a pilot-scale 1500-m-deep reactor at
Longmont, CO, USA. The experience gained was used to
build the first large scale plant in the Netherlands [87]. The
aqueous phase oxidation of sludge is carried out in a vertical
reactor vessel. The plant has a cement-encased well 1200 m
deep, with a diameter of 950 mm into which concentric
tubes are suspended together with heat exchangers to control
the temperature (Fig. 18). The vertical design is meant to
produce a high hydrostatic head at the bottom of the system.
Sewage sludge with a solid content of about 5 wt% is initi-
ally milled so that the solid matter consists of particles with
diameter 35 mm. Thereafter, it is homogenized and then
fed into the reactor as a suspension, and with pure oxygen
also fed into the reactor, the organic material is destroyed at
a minimum temperature of 280C and pressure of approxi-
mately 10 MPa. A 70% reduction in COD is achievable. The
S, Cl and P present in the sludge form compounds of
sulphates, chlorides and phosphates, respectively, which
dissolve and leave the process in the form of a liquid. A
Hamburg University University
University of Waterloo of Brussels
25 b 16 c 18 d
41 f
24 c 39 d
38 b 52 f
52 f 30 c 41 d
42 b 47 f
2442 b 39 f
2442 b 20 f
larger part of the sludge nitrogen leaves as dissolved ammo-
nia and is removed in the VerTechs nitrification and deni-
trification stage. The ash formed during the process is
separated and dewatered, and the decanted water is biologi-
cally treated. The capacity of the plant is 22 800 t/a dry
matter.
2.4.2. Pyrolysis and oil from sludge (OFS) processes
Pyrolysis is a thermal decomposition of organic
substances in the absence of oxygen at temperatures ranging
between 300 and 900C. It consists of a series of complex
chemical reactions which lead to the decomposition and
breakage of the organic matter and the separation of differ-
ent components into individual gases. The products of the
pyrolysis are pyrolysis gas, char and oil. The gas can be used
as fuel, the char can also be burnt as fuel or disposed of,
whereas the oil can be used as raw material for chemical
industries or fuel [7981].
Much attention has been given to the oil product from the
pyrolysis of sewage sludge, the so-called oil from sludge
(OFS) process (e.g. [48, 84, 86, 88, 89]). OFS is a two-
stage process whereby pre-dried sewage sludge is heated
at higher temperatures in the absence of oxygen and at
pressures higher than the atmosphere, resulting in the
conversion of the organic matter of the sludge to a vapour
state. Through catalytic reactions in the presence of char,
these vapours are converted to hydrocarbons [86]. The high
content of silicate and copper in the sludge provides an
additional catalyst for the reaction. The oil obtained has a
high viscosity and high heating values of 2938 MJ/kg [48].
The elementary characteristics of the oil are reported to be
generally stable over a wide range of operating conditions
[89]. Typical values for C, H, O, N and S are 76, 11, 6.5, 4
and 0.5%, respectively. In terms of its carbon content (70
80%), the oil corresponds to that of heavy crude oil. The
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 19. Flow diagram of CG process [90].
advantages mentioned for this process include the reduction
of sewage sludge to a small volume of inert residue, the
production of a high quality oil which can be used in various
chemical processes, the exclusion of the formation of harm-
ful by-products, e.g. tars and dioxins, due to low operation
temperatures and the binding of heavy metals mainly in the
by-products.
The successful development of the OFS process was
started by the Environmental Canada Wastewater Technol-
ogy Centre in Canada in 1982, based on the research origin-
ally carried out at Tubingen University in Germany [86].
The Tubingen process was carried out at a low temperature
of around 300C and produced 2030% oil per kg of dry
sludge. Other groups who have been involved include:
Hamburg University, Germany; University of Waterloo,
Canada and University of Brussels, Belgium. Kyriakos
[88] undertook a comparison of their results and compiled
details of the experiments (Table 15).
2.4.3. Sludge-derived fuelsthe CG process
The CarverGreenfield (CG) drying process is a
Fig. 20. Flow diagram of the HERS plant [91].
Fig. 21. Some technologies offered by German companies.
79
technology for processing sewage sludge into sludge-
derived fuel with very little energy input using multiple
evaporation effects for drying [90], whereby the drying
process is carried out in many stages with the heat required
for evaporation at each stage being obtained by condensing
the vapour generated in the previous stage at a higher
temperature and pressure. It is only in the first stage that
an external steam is used. Mechanically dewatered sludge
is mixed with an industrial oil, the boiling point of which is
above that of water, and thereafter pre-dried (Fig. 19).
The oil maintains the sludge in a liquid form even after its
water content has been reduced to below 5%. After drying,
the oil is separated using a press filter and recycled back.
The fuel sludge so produced has 87% solid sludge, 9% oil
and 4% water. The heating value is about 16.718 MJ/kg.
Experiments show that only 1 kg of steam is required to
remove 2.6 kg of water from sludge, and this is less than
33% of the normal steam requirements of conventional
dryers [90].
The CG process is part of the $200 000 000 Hyperion
energy recovery system (HERS) of Los Angeles, CA,
U.S.A., meant to manage and recover energy from the
405 t/day dry sewage sludge produced from the municipals
wastewater treatment plant [91]. The flow diagram of the
plant is shown in Fig. 20. Thickened sludge mixed with
primary sludge is digested, mechanically dewatered from
5 to 1820 wt% solids and thereafter the sludge cake is
dried in the CG unit. The dewatered sludge is first ground
and mixed with a light solvent oil, the resulting slurry is then
homogenized. A recycled slurry of solids and oil is also
introduced into the homogenization tank. The drying takes
place in a four-stage evaporation system. The sludge-
80 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 22. A flow diagram of SVZ technology.
derived fuel formed is converted to energy in a fluidized bed
gasification and combustion system.
2.4.4. Gasification and combined processes
Several new technologies which involve gasification or
combinations of pyrolysis, combustion and gasification
processes are currently being brought into the market for
thermal processing of wastes and sewage sludge. Figure
21 shows some of the technologies which are currently
being offered to the market predominantly by German
companies.
2.4.4.1. SVZ process. The Sekundarrohstoff
Verwertungszentrum (SVZ), Berlin, Germany, is involved
with the recovery of secondary raw materials from wastes.
Currently, the centre has two gasification plants, a
400 000 t/a capacity high pressure fixed bed gasifier for
solid waste materials and a 50 000 t/a pulverized fuel
gasifier for liquid and slurry-like wastes. Several wastes,
including refuse-derived fuels (RDF), pre-dried sewage
sludge, plastics, contaminated wood, electronic wastes and
hazardous wastes, as well as brown coal are handled at the
centre [92, 93]. After removing the metallic components, the
solid waste materials are crushed, milled and then
compressed, briquetted or pelletized, and thereafter
gasified with oxygen and steam at 1300C (Fig. 22). The
gas formed from the gasification process consists of CO, H2,
CH4 and CO2, as well as light oil and tar. The gas is cleaned
by removing the light oil and tars, which together with other
liquid wastes are gasified in the pulverized gasifier at a
temperature of 16002000C. The synthesis gases from
both gasifiers are used for methanol production and power
generation. An annual production of 100 000 t of methanol
was expected from 1996 [92]. Apart from wastes, a mixture
of brown coal and pre-dried sewage sludge has also been co-
gasified at the centre. Between 1992 and 1995, some
Fig. 23. A flow diagram of Krupp Uhde PreCon technology.
28 000 t of sewage sludge from Berlins Wassmannsdorf
wastewater treatment plant was co-gasified and a future
capacity of 80 000 t/a sludge for co-gasification is planned
[92].
2.4.4.2. Krupp Uhde PreCon process. The Krupp Uhde
PreCon process involves gasification using the high
temperature Winkler (HTW) process followed by recovery
of ceramic products and metals through a catalytic
extraction processCEP (Fig. 23). The crushed waste,
after removing some metallic and inorganic substances, is
pre-dried to a residual moisture content of about 10 wt% and
then introduced into the HTW circulating fluidized bed
gasifier, operating at 7001000C. The solid from the
bottom and cyclone filter are processed in the CEP
chamber. The CEP process, which was developed by an
American company, Molten Metal Technology, operates
at 13001800C. The melting furnace is heated through
induction and is supplied with additives and oxygen. The
reactions lead to the conversion of the melt into three
phasesa ceramic phase consisting of CaO, SiO2 and
Al2O3, a metallic phase of the remaining metals, e.g. iron,
nickel and copper which are later recovered, and a gaseous
phase (H2 and CO) from the gasification of the traces of
carbon in the melt [94].
The HTW technology which has been developed from the
Winkler gasification process of the 1970s by Rheinbraun
AG and Uhde GmbH, operates at 7001000C and higher
pressures. The HTW technology has been sufficiently tested.
Experience has been achieved from some 38 000 operation
hours in a pilot-scale plant at Frechen, Cologne, and from
two large scale plants, a 30.5 t/hr plant at Berrenrath,
Cologne and a 27 t/hr plant in Finland. The plants at
Frechen, Berrenrath and in Finland have been operating
since 1978, 1985 and 1988, respectively.
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 81

Fig. 24. A flow diagram of the Siemens SchwelBrenn process.

Fig. 25. A flow diagram of recycled clean products (RCP) process.

Fig. 26. Simplified flow diagram of the Noell conversion process.

2.4.4.3. Siemens SchwelBrenn process. The Schwel
Brenn process of Siemens AG combines pyrolysis and
high temperature combustion of the products, this process
has been described by Wolfgang et al. [95], Berwein and
Kanczarek [96], and Siemens Management [97]. Crushed
solid wastes mixed with pre-dried sewage sludge are fed
into a rotary carbonizer where the wastes are heated and
pyrolysed at 450C. The solid residue from the
carbonization stage is sieved and classified into two
streams. One stream is made up of larger particles with
diameters above 5 mm, consisting of stones, glass and
metals, and being almost carbon free, is discarded. The
other stream, consisting of finer particles and having about
30 wt% carbon is milled and then fed into the combustion
chamber, where together with carbonization gas, they are
burnt at about 1300C. The ash is removed in a molten form
(Fig. 24). The thermal energy from the process is recovered
in a waste heat boiler for power generation and the
production of process steam. The SchwelBrenn
technology was successfully tested in a pilot-scale plant at
Ulm-Wiblingen. The first large scale plant is currently being
commissioned at Furth in Germany. The plant has a capacity
of 100 000 t/a and will co-fire 22 000 t/a sewage sludge
(35% d.m.). Two more plants will be constructed for the
municipalities of Thun in Switzerland and
Neubrandenburg in Germany, and two licence-plants have
been granted for construction in Japan [97].
2.4.4.4. Recycled clean products (RCP) process of von
Roll. The RCP process from von Roll [98] has separate
smelting and combustion chambers and an extra stage for
product recovery (Fig. 25). The wastes (some 1015%
sewage sludge is expected to be co-fired), without much
preparation, are fed into the carbonization chamber where
pyrolysis and partial gasification take place at around 900C.
Thereafter, the products are melted in a furnace maintained
at 1400C (through combustion of the carbonized materials
and part of the pyrolysis gas) and then flow into the product
recovery chamber which is maintained at 14001500C by
heating using a graphite electrode. Under the reducing
conditions, the metals are reduced to their elementary
forms with nickel, copper and iron removed in the liquid
form and used as raw materials for copper smelting
industries, whereas zink, lead and cadmium are vaporized.
The remaining slag, free from heavy metals, is a good
additive for cement production. The process gases from
the products recovery chamber flow into the circulating
fluidized bed where they are rapidly cooled by the bed
materials to 1000C and burnt. During this, the vaporized
heavy metals are re-oxidized and separated downstream into
82 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 27. Thermoselect process [101].
the flue gas cleaning units. A large plant with a capacity of
6 t/hr solid wastes was commissioned by the end of 1996 in
Bremerhaven where some 1100 kg/hr of cement additives
and 80 kg/hr copperiron alloy are recovered [98].
However, this latter plant is not intended for co-processing
of sewage sludge.
2.4.4.5. Noell conversion process. The Noell conversion
process involves pyrolysis followed by gasification. The
heart of the technology is a high pressure gasifier,
operating at a pressure of up to 3.5 MPa and a temperature
of up to 2000C [99, 100]. The wastes are crushed,
pyrolysed at 550C and after separating the larger parts
consisting of metals, stones and inorganic, the remaining
materials are finely milled into a pulverized form and fed
into the gasifier (Fig. 26). The pyrolysis gas is first cooled to
remove the condensable vapours, then compressed and fed
to gas burners, whereas the condensate is fed using a mud
pump. Pure oxygen is used for gasification. For co-
gasification, sewage sludge is pre-dried, pulverized and
then pneumatically fed through a burner into the gasifier.
Noell have acquired significant operation experience from
their pilot-scale plant in Freiburg/Sachsen which has been
operating since 1979. The experience enabled them to
construct and commission a 130 MW large scale plant
which has been operating near Berlin since 1988. The
main product of the process is a high quality synthesis gas
consisting mainly of CO and H2 which can be used in gas
turbines for power generation.
2.4.4.6. Thermoselect process. In the thermoselect
technology, pyrolysis and gasification processes are
carried out in a single unit [101]. The stages of waste
preparation and sorting are eliminated (Fig. 27). The
wastes including sewage sludge are compressed using a
hydraulic press in a long canal heated from outside and
maintained at temperatures higher than 600C. The
compression enables the canal to be airtight. As wastes
move through the canal they are heated, dried and nearly
completely pyrolysed by the time they reach the end of the
canal. The products of pyrolysis then enter into the
gasification zone where the materials are gasified with
oxygen at a temperature of around 2000C. A high quality
synthesis gas and a molten by-product is formed. The gas is
rapidly cooled from 1200 to 90C (to eliminate reformation
of dioxin and furans), and thereafter cleaned and made
available for use either in power generation or as a raw
material for chemical processes. The molten by-product
flows to the combustion zone where, with a supply of
oxygen and propane gas, combustion takes place at a
temperature in excess of 1600C ensuring thermal
destruction of all chlorinated carbon and other impurities.
Since 1992, the Thermoselect company has obtained
operational experience in their pilot-scale plant with a
capacity of 100 t/day located at Verbania, Italy. In March
1997, the construction of a large scale plant, capacity
225 000 t/a was started in Karlsruhe, Germany. This latter
plant is planned to be commissioned in 1999.
2.5. Summary
From the discussion on the technologies for thermal
processing of sewage sludge, it is clear that mono-combus-
tion of sewage sludge, especially in multiple hearth and
fluidized bed furnaces, will still play an important role in
the future. Co-incineration, particularly with municipal
solid wastes, is also providing an attractive alternative in
view of the fact that incineration of municipal solid waste
is expected to increase in the future due to the diminishing
capacity of landfilling sites. The alternative technologies,
e.g. oil from sludge (OFS), wet oxidation, gasification and
combined processes have definite advantages over mono-
combustion in terms of the cost of flue gas and ash treat-
ment. However, these technologies are just being introduced
into the market and thus are not yet as well tested as mono-
combustion technologies. Time will need to be allowed for
operation experience to be gathered, and it is the hope of the
current authors that the owners of these technologies will
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 83

Fig. 30. Sludge drying techniques.

Fig. 28. Drying curves for sewage sludge [103]. medium (e.g. as described by Agarwal and La Nauze
[102]). Information on drying, devolatilization and char
avail to the public sufficient information so that research and and volatile combustion, as well as physical changes, e.g.
development can be stimulated in this area. fragmentation, shrinkage and attrition, are useful for the
design, operation and maintenance of sewage sludge
combustion systems. The information is also important for
3. Combustion mechanisms of sewage sludge the control of the emissions of gaseous pollutants, e.g. CO,
CxHy, NO and N2O through primary measures. In this
3.1. Introduction section, the combustion mechanisms of sewage sludge are
discussed.
From Section 2, we have seen that several technologies
are available in the market for the thermal processing of
sewage sludge. Of these technologies, mono-combustion 3.2. Drying
is the most established. Multiple hearth and fluidized bed
3.2.1. Influence of moisture content on the design and
furnaces are the most dominant, and the latter is becoming
operation of wet sewage sludge combustor systems
increasingly popular. Multiple hearth furnaces normally
Sewage sludge is a complex of inorganic and organic
burn mechanically dewatered (wet) sludge, whereas flui-
matter bound together with a high percentage of water:
dized bed furnaces can take both wet and semi-dried sludges
7075% is free water, 2025% floc water, and 1% each
(4065 wt% dry matter). The knowledge of the combustion
capillary and bound water [2]. As discussed in Section 1,
mechanisms of sewage sludge is important. With a maxi-
the various forms of moisture can be removed using differ-
mum of 80 wt% moisture content, 50 wt% ash (dry mass),
ent techniques. Drying experiments have shown that sewage
90 wt% volatiles (dry and ash-free mass) and fixed carbon of
sludge exhibits peculiar drying characteristics consisting of
less than 10%, sewage sludge is expected to exhibit char-
two falling rate periods (Fig. 28), unlike the classical drying
acteristics which are not typical for coal combustion. The
curves which have only one falling rate period [103]. Based
drying of the sludge, the release and combustion of the
on the drying experiments, the sludge moisture has been re-
volatiles, and the combustion of the high ash content
characterized as free moisture which is removed during a
remaining char would obviously affect the overall combus-
constant drying rate period, interstitial moisture which is
tion process of sewage sludge. To understand this, one has to
removed during the first falling rate period, surface moisture
follow the events which a large particle of sewage sludge
undergoes when exposed to high temperature oxidizing

Fig. 29. Physical changes during sludge drying [103]. Fig. 31. Backmixing ratio [103].
84 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 32. Supplementary fuel requirement [104].
which is removed during the second falling rate of the
drying curve, and bound water which is chemically bound
and is not removable during the experiment [103]. The
transitional points from the first to the second falling rate
period of drying curves are different for different types of
sludge. Very important phenomena are the physical changes
sewage sludge undergoes at transition points during drying.
It passes through three zones, i.e. the wet zone, where the
sludge is free-flowing and can be spread easily onto a heated
tube, then the sticky zone where the sludge is pasty and can
not flow, and finally the granular zone where the sludge is
crumbly in nature and mixes freely (Fig. 29).
The importance of these physical changes is the realiza-
tion that drying technologies which were developed and
have been used successfully with other materials can not
be simply transferred to the drying of sewage sludge. It is
thus not possible to dry sewage sludge completely in a single
unit because of the sticky zone it has to pass through. As a
result of this, two directions of sludge drying have been
developed, i.e. semi-drying (drying up to the end of the
wet zone) and complete drying (Fig. 30). Complete drying
is carried out in two stages using the backmixing technique,
whereby fine particles of the pre-dried sludge are recycled
and mixed with the dewatered cake in a ratio so as to achieve
a solid content which is beyond the sticky phase (about 60
65 wt% dry matter). The quantity of the recycled particles
depends on the level of mechanical dewatering and the
desired solid content to avoid the sticky phase at the dryer
inlet (e.g. Fig. 31). From Fig. 31, it is seen that the lower the
dry matter of the sludge the larger the quantity of recycled
fines. For example, dewatered sludge with 24 wt% dry
matter will require four times its weight of the recycled
dry sludge to achieve the required parameters.
The problem of the sticky phase must be solved for
those combustion systems requiring pre-dried sludges.
However, during wet sludge combustion, other factors
connected with high moisture contents are considered.
First is the reduced net energy released during sludge
combustion, since energy is required for the evaporation
of the moisture in sludge. If the net energy is not sufficient
for auto-thermal combustion, then supplementary fuel must
Fig. 33. Temperature profile in a multiple hearth furnace.
be supplied. The quantity of the supplementary fuel required
depends on the moisture content, type of sludge, as well as
the temperature of the combustion air, amongst others. For
illustration, Fig. 32 shows the supplementary fuel require-
ments to maintain a temperature of 850C in a fluidized bed
at 6 vol% O2 in the flue gas for a raw sewage sludge with a
heating value of 15 MJ/kg [104].
It is seen from the figure that for wet sludge with 20
25 wt% dry matter (i.e. 34 kg water per kg dry sludge),
around 100200 kg oil per ton dry sludge is required if the
combustion air is preheated to about 450C. Secondly, the
evaporated vapour increases the quantity of flue gas which
affects the sizes of the flue gas treatment and handling
equipment. Thirdly, in the case of fluidized bed combustion,
due to drying and overbed combustion of the volatiles, a
fluidized bed temperature is obtained which is significantly
lower than the freeboard temperature, this is a characteristic
of stationary fluidized bed combustion of wet sewage sludge
which is untypical for coal combustion [105]. Finally, the
moisture content of the sludge is also an important design
parameter, especially for dimensioning the combustion
chamber, whereby for a good operation, a grate evaporation
capacity of 300800 kg steam per hour per m 2 of the cross-
section of the combustors grate is cited [105].
3.2.2. Influence of drying on the combustion process of
sewage sludge
One of the peculiar characteristics of the combustion of
wet sewage sludge is the high content of moisture.
Previous combustion studies have mainly concentrated on
coals with very low moisture contents, and most models
for coal combustion have ignored the drying process.
Recently, however, researchers have started giving atten-
tion to the drying process, especially during the combus-
tion of wet brown coal and wood chips. For example, Jung
and Stanmore (reported by Agarwal and La Nauze [102])
analysed the drying and devolatilization process of Victor-
ian brown coal particles in fluidized beds and observed that
the presence of moisture delays the volatile release. Simi-
larly, Saastamionen [106] has also found that moisture
greatly affects the combustion rates of wood chips and
logs. Gaissmaier and Agarwal [107] have developed a
model which describes the interaction between drying
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 34. Higher heating values at various hearth furnace [48] drying
temperatures [36].
and devolatilization for the combustion of moist coals.
Dersch [108] has used this model to incorporate the drying
process into his model on the combustion of wet brown coal
in a circulating fluidized bed, and Wirsum [109], whose
work is the most recent, has also incorporated the drying
process into his combustion model for sewage sludge in a
stationary fluidized bed combustor.
In order to understand the interaction between drying and
devolatilization, one has to follow the events which a wet
particle of sewage sludge undergoes during exposure in a
high temperature medium. Experiments in laboratory units
and long term operation experience of large scale combus-
tion systems provide some of the information.
First, there is the issue of the drying and devolatilization
temperature. Information available indicates that the de-
volatilization of sewage sludge starts at very low particle
temperatures compared to bituminous coal [36, 48, 70, 110,
111]. Measurements of the temperature of sewage sludge,
ash and gas from different sections of a multiple hearth
furnace (Fig. 33) show that sludge heats up slowly as it
passes from one hearth to the other until in the fifth hearth
when the particle temperature reaches about 100C [48].
Thereafter, there is a rapid increase in the particle tempera-
ture within the hearth which can be attributed to the end of
the drying phase, and possibly the beginning of the release
Fig. 35. Weight loss analysis of wet sludge and coals in an oven at
different temperatures [110].
85
and combustion of the volatiles around the sludge particles.
This gives an indication that devolatilization starts around
these temperatures. Another useful piece of information is
the experience from the brick-making plant of Port Eliza-
beth, South Africa. In the plant, sewage sludge is mixed with
clay and the bricks formed are processed in a tunnel kiln.
Experience has shown that in the tunnel kiln, the bricks heat
up, and upon attaining a temperature of around 150C, the
sludge starts devolatilizing and the combustion of the vola-
tiles starts, this leads to a rapid increase in the temperature of
the brick [70]. At a laboratory-scale level, Vesilind and
Ramsey [36] exposed same-sized sewage sludge particles
at different temperatures up to 400C until a constant weight
and determined the calorific value of the samples. The
results (Fig. 34) showed that up to a temperature of 150C
the calorific value remained almost constant, but thereafter
decreased rapidly, and by 400C the residue had no calorific
value. The decrease in calorific value is attributed to partial
release of the volatiles during drying and thus gives infor-
mation about the point of the start of the devolatilization
process. Werther et al. [110] used the same experimental
method as Vesilind and Ramsey [36], and determined the
drying and devolatilization temperature of sewage sludge
through a temperature-resolved weight loss analysis and
compared the results with those obtained for coals by von
Raczeck [111] using the same method. The results (Fig. 35)
also showed that devolatilization starts at around 150C.
Furthermore, there is a marked separation between the
temperature at which drying ends and devolatilization
begins. Comparison with the measurements of von Raczeck
[111] shows that there is some characteristic similarity
between sludge and brown coal, whereas for bituminous
coal, devolatilization starts at much higher temperatures of
around 300400C [110].
The other interesting issue regarding drying and devola-
tilization of sewage sludge combustion is whether devolati-
lization starts after the completion of drying as has been
known for coal or whether the two processes overlap as
described by Agarwal and La Nauze [102] for large particles
of moist coal. Vesilind and Ramsey [36] have reported that
some researchers have maintained that regardless of the
Fig. 36. Analysis of drying and devolatilization through visual
observation [112].
86 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 37. Drying, devolatilization and particle temperature profiles [110].
heating temperature, a small amount of volatiles may be lost
until 8090% of the moisture in sludge is removed, and that
the residual moisture would be uniformly distributed in the
sludge. Vesilind maintains that this is difficult to achieve
since the exposed sludge surface areas tend to dry faster
than those buried in the sludge cake. This position has
been shown to be the case for wet brown coal [108]. Indeed
from the experiments of Borodulya et al. [112] and Werther
et al. [110], there appears to be a significant overlap of the
drying and devolatilization processes during sludge
combustion such that the two processes may be considered
to take place parallel to each other.
Borodulya et al. [112] undertook visual observations of
the events which follow after sludge particles were dropped
into a hot fluidized bed kept at 850C. After a constant time
interval, the particles were removed with a special net trap,
cooled rapidly and their weights measured. By repeating the
procedure, the time spans of drying, devolatilization and
combustion processes were determined (Fig. 36). The
results showed that as the sludge particles began to devola-
tilize, only 40% of the moisture had been released. Werther
et al. [110] placed samples of wet sludge in a furnace at
850C, and after specific time intervals some samples
were removed, cooled and the residual weight determined.
By further drying the samples removed from the furnace, the
quantity of moisture and volatiles released at various time
intervals were determined (Fig. 37). They also measured the
temperature of the particle during drying, devolatilization
and combustion by means of a 1 mm diameter Ni-Cr-Ni
thermocouple attached at the centre of the wet sludge
particles. Their results showed that devolatilization started
shortly after drying. Thereafter, the two processes ran
parallel to each other. The temperature at the centre of the
particle remains relatively low during drying and
devolatilization, but increases rapidly during char com-
bustion, attaining a peak temperature of about 1000C.
The low particle temperatures during drying and devola-
tilization indicate that the initial intensive drying results in a
stream of low temperature vapour from the interior of the
particle to the outer surface which effectively keeps the
surface temperature low. The effect of the low devolatiliza-
tion temperature is that the devolatilization times for wet
sludge are longer than for dry sludge particles (e.g. [109,
110, 112]). For example, Werther et al. [110] measured
devolatilization times of about 100300 sec for wet sludge
particles of diameter 420 mm, whereas a devolatilization
time of 50 sec was measured for pre-dried sludge of the
same diameters.
The devolatilization time is normally estimated from the
release history of proximate volatile contents or by the
degree of completion of the evolution of the volatiles (e.g.
95% of the evolution of the volatiles), or the flame ignition
method [112114]. Typical devolatilization times range
between 10 and 100 sec for coal particles of 510 mm
diameter [115]. Devolatilization times are generally related
to the particle diameter by a power law relationship [112
114],
td Kv dpN 1
The exponent, N, is reported to be mainly between 1 and
2, although values less than 1 were reported by Pillai [116].
It is suggested that the exponential constant N 2 for the
case when the process is controlled by internal mass transfer
and is less than 2 when heat transfer is the limiting stage.
The exponential N increases with an increase in the moisture
content and temperature, and also depends on the fuel type
[117]. Werther et al. [110], using the evolution method, and
Borodulya et al. [112], using the flame ignition method to
determine the devolatilization times of sludge particles,
found that the devolatilization times for sewage sludge
can also be described using the power law relationship.
Both determined values of N which are less than 1. The
analysis of Werther et al. [110] of sewage sludge particles
with various moisture contents shows that whereas the value
of Kv remained constant, the power N increased with moist-
ure content and was equal to 0.27 and 0.72 for dry and wet
sludge, respectively.
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 87

Fig. 38. Pyrolysis products as a function of temperature [122].

Fig. 39. Gas composition from various pre-dried sludges [22, 118
122].
3.3. Devolatilization

Devolatilization (or pyrolysis) means thermal decompo-

sition of carbonaceous substances with subsequent release
of the volatiles. It consists of a series of complex chemical
reactions which leads to the decomposition and breakage of
the organic matter and the separation of different compo-
nents into individual gases. Sufficient information on sludge
pyrolysis is available and can be found, e.g. in the work of
Ying [22], Kruger-Betz [118], Kummer [119], Augustin
[120], and Koch and Kaminsky [121]. They investigated
several sludge samples including pre-dried municipal
digested sludge, paper sludge, sludges from chemical indus-
try and oil refinery, and thermally conditioned sludge. In
each case, detailed information of the products of pyrolysis
and the gas compositions has been given. The main products
of sludge pyrolysis are gas (volatile), char and oil. The Fig. 40. Influence of devolatilization temperature on the quantity of
quantities of these products are affected by the operation sludge carbon release during devolatilization [22, 121123].
parameters. For example, increasing the devolatilization
temperature leads to an increase in the quantity of the
gaseous component, whereas the amount of the condensate significant. It is only the investigation of Rumphorst [122]
(oil) and char components decreases. Figure 38 shows the which gave more CO2 than CO for wet municipal sludge.
variation of the products of pyrolysis with temperature Volatile components, e.g. nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen,
obtained from a pre-dried municipal sewage sludge [122]. are released significantly at lower temperatures. At a
Analyses of the compositions of the gaseous product of temperature as low as 500C, 70% of the nitrogen, almost
pyrolysis (volatiles) have shown that generally H2, CO, CO2 80% of the organic oxygen and 90% of the hydrogen can be
and CxHy are the main components released during pyrolysis volatilized [122]. Just like the product of pyrolysis, the
of different sludges [22, 118121]. The quantity, however, composition of the gas changes with temperature. Increasing
depends on the sludge type (Fig. 39). For all the sludges, CO the temperature leads to an increase in CO and a decrease in
is the dominant gaseous species, although CxHy can also be CO2 and CxHy (Table 16).

Table 16
Main components in the pyrolysis gas from a thermally conditioned sludge at various temperatures [120]

Temperature, C 620 670 760 830

Hydrogen, wt% 2.5 2.59 3.2 4.62

Carbon dioxide, wt% 24.4 18.32 15.39 7.25
Carbon monoxide, wt% 28.63 34.62 43.43 66.17
Hydrocarbons, wt% 33.54 36.04 31.12 16.45
88 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 41. Burn out charts for different fuel samples [124].
It is important to note that the combustible volatiles, (CO,
CxHy and H2) together formed more than 80 wt% of the
pyrolysis gas. Indeed, by analysing the carbon species in
the volatiles or the carbon in the char, Ogada and Werther
[123], Rumphorst [122], Ying [22] and Koch and Kaminsky
[121] have shown that a large quantity of the sludge carbon
is released with the volatiles during devolatilization (Fig.
40). At lower devolatilization temperatures, 4060 wt% of
the sludge carbon is released with the volatiles, and this
increases to 7080 wt% as the devolatilization temperature
is increased from 500 to 700C. Above 700C, only insig-
nificant effects of the temperature are observed. The distri-
bution of sludge carbon between the char and volatiles
appears to be a characteristic of all sludges and does not
depend on the sludge type, moisture content and origin. At
the normal combustion temperatures, a large quantity of the
sludge carbon should be expected with the volatiles.
Kaferstein et al. [124] have also shown the importance of
volatiles during sludge combustion by following the
combustion process of bituminous coal, lignite, biomass
and pre-dried sewage sludge during batch experiments in
a bubbling fluidized bed using oxygen concentration profiles
measured directly over the bed with solid electrolyte sensor
probes (Fig. 41). The fuel samples were fed rapidly into the
combustor by a two-valve system. The combustion of the
volatiles was characterized by very rapid consumption of
oxygen, whereas char combustion was relatively slow
with a great dependence on the fuel type. From the exper-
iments, the char combustion phase could be clearly identi-
fied for the coals but not for the biomass and sludge in spite
of their larger diameters.
3.4. Release and combustion of the volatiles during fluidized
bed combustion of sewage sludge
In order to discuss the release and combustion of volatiles
during sewage sludge combustion in a fluidized bed, a short
review of modelling of coal combustion is necessary. This is
because during coal combustion modelling, some assump-
tions have to be made concerning volatile combustion.
Three of them which are relevant to the present discussion
are: whether it is important to include volatile combustion in
the model; how to handle volatile release and combustion
with respect to char combustion; and fixing of the location
of release and combustion of the volatiles.
The importance of volatile matter to the combustion
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 42. Comparison of axial profile measurements for sludge, coals and propane [123, 135137].
process depends on its content in the fuel concerned, and it
is not always that volatile combustion is considered for coal
combustion. For example, in 1985 La Nauze [115] reviewed
28 papers on modelling of coal combustion and in 50% of
the models the combustion of the volatile was not consid-
ered. In the case of the release and combustion of the vola-
tile matter, there are two approaches. In some models the
volatiles are lumped together with char (e.g. coal combus-
tion models of Bellgardt et al. [125], Hembach [126] and
Schoessler [127]). In this case it is assumed that all the
volatile carbon is retained with the char. The quantity of
the volatiles is taken from the proximate analysis and the
rate of release is considered to be proportional to the rate of
char consumption. The release of O2 and the combustion of
other components of the volatiles, e.g. S, N, etc. are also
taken to be proportional to the char consumption. Whereas
in the other approach, volatile release and combustion are
treated separately from char combustion (e.g. the coal
combustion models of Rajan and Wen [128], Dersch
[108], Adanez et al. [129], and Kaferstein et al. [124]).
For the location of release and combustion of the volatiles,
there are three models which depend on the devolatilization
times in comparison with the rates of lateral and axial solid
mixing. The first model approach considers that the release
and combustion of the volatiles take place instantaneously at
the feed point, this is valid where the rate of volatile release
and combustion is higher than the rate of mixing of the
carbon particles in the bed [130]. The second approach
assumes that the release and combustion of the volatiles
takes place uniformly throughout the bed and is valid
where the devolatilization time is of the same order as the
particle mixing time [131, 132]. The particle mixing time is,
of course, related to the size of the bed. The third model
assumes that the volatiles are released in the form of a plume
preventing the penetration and mixing of the oxygen with
the volatiles. This leads to a limited combustion taking place
at the boundary layer. The actual combustion of the volatiles
then takes place in the freeboard [133, 134]. The review by
La Nauze [115] showed that the most popular assumption
for the release and combustion of the volatiles taken for coal
combustion is the second model, and indeed recent models
89
such as those of Bellgardt et al. [125], Hembach [126] and
Schoessler [127] have also applied these assumptions.
The combustion of the volatile may be considered to be a
very important step during the combustion of sewage
sludge. Sewage sludge has a significantly high content of
the volatiles, and as already mentioned, up to 80% of the
sludge carbon is released with the volatiles. Comparison
undertaken by Ogada and Werther [123] of the axial profiles
of O2 concentrations from sludge (own measurements) with
those obtained from pre-mixed hydrocarbon gas and coals
show that as the volatile matter content of a fuel increases,
the combustion characteristics of the fuel get closer to those
of gas (Fig. 42). The combustion of the hydrocarbon gas (a
mixture of propane and air) was investigated by van der
Vaart and Davidson [135] in a 76 mm diameter transparent
combustor with a bed height of 120 mm. The data for lignite
were obtained from the measurements conducted by Oymak
et al. [136] from a 0.25 m diameter and 2.4 m high fluidized
bed combustor, whereas those from bituminous coal were
obtained by Gibbs and Hardley [137] in a 0.3 m square in
section and 1.83 m high fluidized bed combustor. Sewage
sludge combustion is thus dominated by the combustion of
the volatiles, and for modelling, separate treatment of the
volatiles will be closer to the reality of sewage sludge
combustion.
Some information is also available concerning the loca-
tion of the release and combustion of the volatiles. Rajan
and Wen [128] have estimated that the solid mixing time for
a 0.61 m 2 combustor with a bed height of 1.22 m and a
superficial gas velocity of 1.22 m/sec lies in the range of
210 sec. These mixing times are much lower than the
measured drying and devolatilization times for single par-
ticles of wet sewage sludge [110, 112]. Thus, uniform mixing
of the sludge particles and consequently uniform release and
combustion of the volatiles in the bed may be expected. In
large scale fluidized bed incinerators, due to larger particles
(the initial sludge particle size is related to the diameter of
the sludge feeding pipe which for large scale incinerators is
between 100 and 300 mm), drying and devolatilization
times of such particles will be long enough to achieve
uniform release and combustion of the volatiles in the
90 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 43. Axial profile of CxHy as a function of oxygen concentrations and bed temperature [123].
bed. Indeed, good burn-out and relatively uniform bed
temperature have been achieved in a large scale combustor
with a grate diameter of 5.6 m using only one feed point for
sludge [105], indicating a relatively good mixture of sludge
in the bed. Even for overbed feed this should be applicable,
since the residence time of the sludge lumps in the freeboard
is so small that negligible drying takes place there. North
and Eleftheriades [138] fed coffee sludge with 85% moisture
content in a large scale fluidized bed combustor through
dispersion in the freeboard to achieve some drying in the
freeboard. Even for such smaller particles, the main part of
drying took place in the bed and over 80% of the sludge heat
was reportedly released there.
From the above discussion it would appear apparent that
among the three models for the release and combustion of
the volatiles during the combustion of wet sewage sludge
particles, the second model is more appropriate. However,
the assumption of uniform release and combustion of the
volatiles in the bed has one limitation in that it does not
explain the higher freeboard temperature (which can be up
to 200C higher than the bed) which is normally observed
during sewage sludge combustion in large scale fluidized
bed. This temperature stratification has always been attrib-
uted to freeboard combustion of the volatiles [105, 139].
This indicates that there is either a segregation of the sludge
particles in the bed, or the volatiles leave the bed unburnt
due to the effect of rapid transport of combustible gas in the
form of bubbles which have not had sufficient time to burn
inside the bed.
Are sludge lumps segregated in the bed? Ruoss [140],
Wirsum [109], Borodulya et al. [112] and Ogada and
Werther [123] have investigated this phenomenon. Ruoss
[140], based on his own experiments, postulated that the
lumps of sewage sludge initially sink into the bed to the
distributor plate where the action of the high velocity jet
from the nozzles immediately breaks them into smaller
particles and this would enhance uniform distribution of
the particles in the bed. This phenomenon, however, could
not be observed by Wirsum [109] who undertook several
experiments on the combustion behaviour of sewage sludge
in fluidized bed. He reports that the sludge particles main-
tained their initial form during the combustion with no frag-
mentation taking place. This position is also supported by
Borodulya et al. [112] who dropped wet and dry particles of
sewage sludge, diameter 520 mm, into a fluidized bed
combustor maintained at 800C and followed the combus-
tion process through visual observation of the upper bound-
ary of the bed of the fluidized bed. They observed that the
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
particles float mainly on the bed surface, immersing occa-
sionally to a small depth as they dry, devolatize and burn,
while the initial diameter reduces only slightly. The vola-
tiles burn with a short and bright flame. But the flame is not
continuous, appearing and disappearing a few times,
suggesting that the volatiles are released in a somewhat
pulsating manner. For smaller particles (diameter below
10 mm), there was no observable flame. In contrast to the
wet sludge, dry sludge formed a long and sooty flame, the
height of which depended on the intensity of the release of
the volatiles. Whereas Ruoss [140], Wirsum [109], and
Borodulya et al. [112] followed the behaviour of a single
particle of wet sewage sludge, Ogada and Werther [123]
analysed the location of volatile release and combustion
through axial profile measurements of the gaseous concen-
trations in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed during continu-
ous combustion conditions. An expanded bed height of
760 mm was used and the sludge was fed at 380 mm
above the distributor plate. The location of release and
combustion of the volatiles was followed based on the
CxHy axial profiles (Fig. 43). The results show that whereas
the peak values of the volatiles were measured within the
bed just above the feed point, higher concentrations of the
volatiles were found in the splash zone and freeboard.
Furthermore, the rate of decrease of the volatiles above
the bed was not rapid as expected for gas phase combustion
indicating continued release of the volatiles in the lower part
of the freeboard. It can therefore be concluded that there is a
degree of segregation of sludge particles during sewage
combustion in the fluidized bed.
Apart from the partial segregation of sludge particles in
the bed, consideration should also be given to the reported
reduced volatile combustion within the bed. It is known that
the rate of gas combustion in the bed is lower than in solid-
free medium. Two different reasons have been reported for
this [141]. One explanation suggests that volatile combus-
tion takes place mainly in the suspension phase, since vol-
atile ignition in the bubble phase requires a sufficiently high
temperature to ignite. These volatiles enclosed in the
bubbles will thus reach the bed surface without burning
significantly. The other explanation is that the combustion
of the volatiles in the suspension phase is reduced due to
quenching and deactivation effects of the bed materials so
that volatile combustion in the bubbles is more effective
Table 17
Comparison of the in-bed char carbon concentrations from the sludge with those from coals [123]
Fuel type Fixed carbon, % O2 in flue gas, %
Sewage sludge 15 2.3
Valdarno lignite 46 2.2
Bituminous coal 60 2.3
Coke 81 3.1
Graphitized coke 87 1.9
Graphite 98 0.6
91
than in the suspension phase. The deactivating effect of
the fluidized bed on gas phase reactions has been observed
and is generally accepted, e.g. for CO oxidation (e.g.
Schoessler [127]). Furthermore, it is important to remember
that fluidization velocity and the location of the fuel feed
point are important. Segregation occurs readily at low flu-
idization velocities, whereas volatile release and combustion
is expected to be different for inbed and overbed sludge
feeding.
3.5. Sewage sludge char combustion in fluidized bed
Subsequent to the drying and devolatilization, the remain-
ing sludge char will continue to react with oxygen until it
burns out. The burn-out time of char from coal can be
considerably longer than the devolatilization time. Agarwal
and La Nauze [102] report that the burn out time of 10 mm
diameter char (coal) particles under fluidized bed is typi-
cally 1000 sec. Since the char burn-out time is compara-
tively longer than the devolatilization time (less than
100 sec), the combustion of coal particles is therefore
controlled by the char combustion phase. The situation is
different with sewage sludge. First, due to the low fixed
carbon of sewage sludge, the char burn-out time is less
than or comparable to the time span for the release and
combustion of the volatiles. Furthermore, for wet sludge
the devolatilization time is even longer. Therefore, the
significance of the char combustion phase in sludge combus-
tion is negligible. Ogada and Werther [123] measured the
carbon load during sewage sludge combustion in fluidized
bed and compared the results with those obtained from coals
of different ranks. The results show that sewage sludge
combustion is characterized by very low carbon load in
the bed (Table 17), and a clear dependence of the char
carbon concentration on the bed with the contents of the
fixed carbon in the fuel could be seen. Changing from sludge
and lignite to bituminous coal, graphite coke and graphite,
the reactivity of the fuels decreases in that order, so that
lignite and sludge form the most reactive chars whereas
the graphite is the least reactive.
Based on the low carbon load in the bed, sewage sludge
appears to exhibit characteristics similar to those of reactive
low ranking coals. However, it has to be taken into account
that in the case of sewage sludges which have 90% volatiles
Temp., C Char carbon conc. in bed,
kg/m 3
800 0.15
850 1.4
850 27.4
850 126.4
850 374
900 557
92 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

and only 10% fixed carbon, a comparatively low carbon load reaction rate constant can then be determined from
in the bed during combustion has to be expected for the 1 1 1
same specific combustion rate W/m 2 of the bed surface. 10
k k0 kd
Further information about the reactivity of the sludge char
can be obtained if characteristic combustion parameters are The mass transfer coefficient is given by
determined. Several conventional approaches are available Sh:DG
for the determination of the kinetic parameters, one kd 11
dp
approach of which is briefly discussed below. The method
is based on the effective reaction rate constant. whereby DG is the diffusion coefficient, dp is the particle
The rate of consumption of the carbon in the sludge char diameter and Sh is the Sherwoods number which may be
may take one or more of the following four routes: calculated from any of the many correlations available, e.g.
C O2 ! CO2 2 from the correlation of Leckner et al. [145].
For the determination of the combustion kinetics accord-
C 1=2O2 ! CO 3 ing to the correlation of Field et al. [144], Eq. (9), the knowl-
edge of particle surface temperature is necessary. Like coal
CO 1=2O2 ! CO2 4 [146], during the combustion of sewage sludge char, char
particle temperature in excess of the bed temperature is
CO2 C ! 2CO 5 attained [110]. This phenomenon is characteristic of all
solid fuels and has been reported not only during the
Reactions Eqs. (2), (3) and (5) are heterogeneous reac-
combustion of coal but also during the combustion of such
tions on the surface of the particles, whereas reaction Eq. (4) materials as wood [147] and even black liquor droplets
is a homogeneous reaction which takes place in the region [148]. The excess particle temperature depends on the
surrounding the particle. According to Ross and Davidson operation parameters, e.g. particle sizes, and oxygen
[142], reaction (5) takes place at a rate much less than the concentration.
other reactions under the typical fluidized bed combustion The CO formed during the combustion of sludge char is
temperatures, even if the particles excess temperature is oxidized further to CO2 in a gas phase reaction reaction, Eq.
taken to be 200K and may be ignored. Reactions (2) and (4). The rate of CO oxidation can be determined using one
(3) have been combined by Rajan and Wen [128] by intro- of the correlations for CO oxidation, e.g the correlation of
ducing a mechanism factor, f , to characterize the quantity Howard et al. [149],
of CO and CO2 formed from the heterogeneous reactions of  
q 15088
O2 with char at the particle surface, rCO 1:3CCO CH2 O CO2 exp 12
    T
1 2 2
C O2 ! 2 CO 1 CO2 6
f f f Under fluidized bed conditions, the CO oxidation rate is
slower than predicted by Howards correlation. Brem [150]
The mechanism factor, f , depends on the particle
attributes this discrepancy to insufficient mixing of the
temperature and diameter, and the ratio of CO/CO2 which
oxygen and CO. However, Hayhurst and Tucker [151]
are leaving the boundary layer. The latter can be determined
have shown that it is rather the presence of solids in the
according to the correlation of Arthur [143],
  bed which is the reason for the observed reduction in the
CO 6239K CO conversion rate. First, they consider that the CO
p 2500 exp 7
CO2 T oxidation process is quenched by the particles. Secondly,
the CO oxidation takes place through intermediate radicals
The rate of carbon consumption is therefore proportional
which, due to high solid contents in the bed, recombine and
to the rate of oxygen consumption on the surface of the
as a result slow down the reaction. Therefore, it is necessary
particles. The latter depends on the surface area of the par-
to include a fitting factor, a CO, introduced by Schoeler
ticle and the oxygen concentration on the surface of the
[127],
particle, and is given by  
q 15088
rOAS k0 pdp2 COAS 8 rCO 1:3aCO CCO CH2 O CO2 exp 13
T
where COAs is the concentration of oxygen within the bound- Other factors to be considered during sludge combustion
ary around the surface of the particle. especially in the fluidized bed are attrition and fragmenta-
Eq. (8) contains the reaction rate constant, k0, which is tion which do not only affect the size of sludge char particles
determined according to Field et al. [144], but could also lead to the production and elutriation of
!
596 1800 carbon fines. Whereas fragmentation has not been observed
k0 T exp 9 during single particle combustion of sewage sludge [109,
f p Tp
112], attrition of the sludge char particles as they burn in
whereby Tp is the particle temperature. The effective the bed is relevant. Cammrota et al. [152] have determined
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 93

Table 18
Comparison of chemical composition of sewage sludges, coals and RDF [58] in a reduced form

Component Bituminous coal Sludge 1 Sludge 2 RDF

Ash wt%, dry fuel 5 31.0 44.6 8.9

Carbon 79.2 30.9 29.0 43.19
Hydrogen 4.7 4.6 3.8 6.75
Nitrogen 1.8 4.5 3.1 0.63
Sulphur 0.9 1.1 0.80 trace
Chlorine 0.7 0.1 0.17 1.30
Oxygen 7.6 26.5 17.56 38.79
SiO2 wt%, ash oxides 34.1 33.6 41.3 39.8
Al2O3 24.9 15.6 14.3 23.7
CaO 8.1 22.2 19.8 22.9
P2O5 1.2 16.7 8.7 1.0
Fe2O3 21.1 3.6 6.8 2.3
TiO2 0.7 1.3 1.2 2.1
MgO 1.9 2.3 3.2 2.7
Pb ppm, dry fuel 20 211 369 50
Cd 1 2 5 1
Hg 2 2 20 2
Zn 15 567 834 85
Ni 3 32 35 2
As 5 10 20 5
Cu 23 829 487 35
Co 2 3 6 2
Cr 2 62 227 8
HDT 1170 1220 1200 1170

HDT is hemisphere temperature.

attrition rate constant of coals which could be used, although
Arena et al. [153] have shown in their recent work that the
attrition and fragmentation properties of refuse-derived
fuels were different from those of coals, which might also
apply to sewage sludge chars.
The above information can be used to determine the
combustion kinetic parameters based on the measurements
of the rate of consumption of the carbon in the sewage
sludge char. These can be in terms of gaseous profiles of
CO2 formation or O2 consumption during single particle
combustion or burn-out times. An important requirement
for this is choosing the appropriate combustion model.
There are three combustion models, i.e. the shrinking par-
ticle, shrinking core and shrinking density models. These
models have been described sufficiently in the literature
(e.g. [154]). Due to the high ash content of sewage sludge,
many authors are adopting the shrinking core particle model
for sewage sludge char (e.g. [109, 112, 124]) which has
more or less described their measurements reasonably
well. However, due to the large loss of significant weight
through drying and devolatilization, sludge char formed
may be highly porous. Indeed, Modolo [155] found out
that the porosity of char formed from sludge (1.1221 cm 3/
g) is higher than that from brown coal (0.8928 cm 3/g) under
similar experimental conditions. The combustion of sludge
could include the penetration of oxygen into the pores and
may not be sufficiently described by the shrinking core
model.
3.6. Summary
From the discussion in this chapter, it has been shown that
the high contents of moisture and volatile matter of wet
sewage sludge have an influential effect on the combustion
characteristics of the sludge, as well as the design of dryers
and furnaces for sludge drying and combustion, respec-
tively. The drying and devolatization processes are interre-
lated and appear to take place parallel to each other. The
location of drying, and the release and combustion of vol-
atiles determines the temperature distribution in a sludge
combustion furnace, especially if the combustion is carried
out in a multiple earth or fluidized bed furnace. The high
volatile matter content of sewage sludge dominates the
combustion process with the role of the char combustion
step playing a less important role. These factors are impor-
tant and may provide a useful base for modelling the
combustion of sewage sludge.
94 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 19
Estimates of emissions of dioxins and furans for some countries
Source Austria Germany
Incineration (g TEG/a) 1 0.011.1
Sewage sludge 114 5.4432
Municipal waste 210 0.574
Hazardous waste 111 5.4
Hospital waste 111 5.4
Total emissions
(incl. other sources) 50320 67926
Basis year 1987/1988 1990
Source: [69] in a reduced form, NLNetherlands, TEGtoxicity equivalent.
4. Environmental considerations during the combustion
of sewage sludge
4.1. Pollutants from sewage sludge combustion
Based on the composition of sewage sludge (e.g.
Table 18), incineration of sludge may be seen as a potential
source of various pollutants and care must be taken during
its disposal.
Inadequate care during the disposal of wastes has caused
various types of environmental damage including pollution
of the ground water, contamination of the soil and surface
water, pollution of air, and poisoning of humans and animals
either through direct contact or through the food chains.
Therefore, sludge incineration, like waste incineration,
normally receives much public scrutiny, and despite the
wide experience available on sewage sludge combustion,
it is still tedious to obtain approval for the construction of
a new incineration plant. Of great concern to the public are
the following possible pollutants from sewage sludge incin-
eration:
1. release of heavy metals;
2. the handling of solid residues, e.g. bed and filter ash;
3. emissions of dioxins and furans, NOx, N2O, SO2, as well
as HCl, HF and CxHy.
4.1.1. Heavy metals
The sources of heavy metals in wastewater treatment
plants are industries and through diffusion from households,
ground surface activities, corrosion and erosion of the
sewerage pipes [156]. Therefore, the concentrations of
heavy metals in sewage sludges thus depend on the indus-
trial activities around the source of sludge. The heavy metals
exist in sewage sludge in the form of hydroxides, car-
bonates, phosphates, silicates and sulphates. They are incor-
porated in the solid matter of the sludge and remain with the
sludge during wastewater treatment processes [157]. At
laboratory levels, some reduction of heavy metals in the
sludge has been achieved using acidic medium in which
the heavy metals dissolve. Dilute solutions of HCl, HNO3
Japan NL U.K. U.S.A.
7 0.3 1052
31007400 382 1150 18009000
460 16 11 11110
80240 2.1 32 160016 000
80240 2.1 32 160016 000
40008400 484 3840 330026 000
1990 1991 1989 1994
as well as H2SO4 have been found to be effective for this
[157]. On a large scale, however, the only viable method of
reducing heavy metals in the sludge is their reduction from
the source before discharging into the municipal sewage
system [155]. For example, data collected by the UK
Department of Environment have shown the reduction of
zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, lead and chromium by 26
64% between 1982 and 1992 [84]. These reductions have
been achieved by a general improvement in control of the
trade effluents and reductions in the consent values for
discharge to sewer, together with significant changes in
manufacturing industries. Another example is the Nord-
deutsche Affinerie AG-Hamburg, Europes largest copper
smelter, which after undertaking emission reduction invest-
ment is reported to have reduced the diffusion of dust and
iron particles by 58%, lead by 80% and SO2 by 87% [158].
Reports of catastrophic episodes of metal poisonings
(mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium and arsenic) are very
well documented by Forstner and Wattmann [159]. They not
only affect the aquatic life, but also human beings, through
food chains, inhaling or direct contact. Metal emissions in
the form of sub-micron size particulates are reported to pose
the greatest threat and account for almost all the potential
cancer risks from an incineration system [160].
4.1.2. Dioxins and furans
The term dioxins and furans refers to a class of
compounds consisting of 75 chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins
(PCDDs) and 135 chlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) [69].
They are undesired by-products of chemical industries,
pyrolysis and combustion processes since they are highly
toxic even in very minute concentration. These compounds
can also cause skin disease and affect the nerve system
[161]. Experimental investigations have shown that 90%
of the PCDD/PCDF are transmitted into the human body
through animal fat products and only 10% is transmitted
through the respiratory system [162]. Recently, it was
reported that dioxins and furans have also been measured
in low to high ppb concentrations in several pieces of new
clothing from different manufacturers which can be trans-
ferred to human skin during wearing [163].
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 95

Table 20
Emission limits for waste incineration and power stations

Pollutants Germany Germany Netherlands EU (draft)

13th BImSchV a Waste incineration Wastes incineration c Wastes incineration c

Coal power 17th BImSchV b
plants
CO 250 50 50 50
d
NOx, as NO2 200 200 70
SO2 400 e 50 40 25
HCl 50 10 10 5
HF 2 1 1 1
organic carbon 20 10 10 5
Cd TI f 0.1 0.05 0.05
HG f 0.05 0.05 0.05
Sb As Pb f 0.5 1 0.05
Cr Co Cu
Mn Ni V
Sn
PCDD PCDF in 0.1 0.1
ng TEG/m 3

a
Days average in mg/m 3, standard conditions, dry basis, based on 7 vol% O2 in the off-gas.
b
Hours average in mg/m 3, standard conditions, dry basis, based on 11 vol% O2 in the off-gas.
c
Days average in mg/m 3, standard conditions, dry basis, based on 11 vol% O2 in the off-gas.
d
No proposal.
e
A minimum of 85% reduction.
f
No reglementation.

A recent estimation of the emissions of dioxins and furans
into the air for Austria, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands,
U.K. and U.S.A. has shown that the major contributors are
incineration of municipal, hazardous and hospital wastes
[69]. Metal smelting and refining is also considered to be
an important source. In some countries, the combustion of
wood, coal and lignite is also important. Table 19 shows
dioxin and furans emissions from various wastes.
4.1.3. Ash
The high ash content of the sewage sludge may lead to
very high ash concentration in the flue gas. The flue gas
leaving the combustion chamber, depending on the combus-
tion process, furnace design and the ash content of the
sludge, may contain up to 60 000 mg/m 3 [48]. This is parti-
cularly the case with fluidized bed furnaces where almost all
of the ash can be removed from the bed and carried away by
the flue gas. For the rotary and multiple hearth furnaces, an
average of about 20 and 10% of that from the fluidized bed
furnace, respectively, may be expected [48].
4.1.4. Other pollutants
For the old sewage sludge incineration plants of the
1960s, ash removal from the flue gas was the sole post-
combustion flue gas treatment [48]. Today, further attention
has to be given to the removal of organic carbon and acidic
gases in the flue gas, i.e. NO, SO2, HCl and HF, as well as
other pollutants, e.g. N2O and CO. Some of these gases are
associated with global environmental effects, e.g. acid rain,
ozone destruction and global warming. The emissions of
these components depend on the contents of S, N, Cl, etc.
in the sewage sludge. The S contents of the sludge are
comparable with those of coals and generally almost all
the sulphur in the sludge is released as SO2 during combus-
tion. The nitrogen content of sewage sludge is several times
higher than that of coals. Therefore, sludge combustion
might be expected to lead to higher emissions of NOx and
N2O.
Of late, much concern is being given to N2O emissions
(e.g. [164167]). The atmospheric concentration of N2O is
reported to be increasing at a rate of between 0.18 and
0.26% per year from its present level of 330 ppb [165].
This is a matter of concern since N2O is both a greenhouse
gas and a participant in the stratospheric ozone depletion.
N2O reacts with an oxygen radical to form a NO molecule,
which catalytically destroys ozone [166]. In the strato-
sphere, with a concentration of 330 ppb compared with
only 0.010.03 ppb NO and NO2, respectively, N2O is the
most abundant nitrogen oxide species. The half-life of N2O
is about 170 years compared with 12 min for NOx. NOx has
a relatively short half-life in the atmosphere because it is
scrubbed by moisture from the lower atmosphere, while
96 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
N2O is not similarly affected and can therefore diffuse into
the upper atmosphere. There it reacts with O radicals to form
NO, which is then involved in a catalytic cycle to destroy
ozone. The removal mechanism for the NO in the strato-
sphere is back-diffusion into the lower atmosphere. As
sources of N2O emissions, denitrification of fertilizers used
in agriculture, tropical deforestation and combustion of
fossil fuels have been mentioned [166].
4.2. Emissions regulation for sewage sludge incineration
There are no specific regulations in any European coun-
try for the incineration of sewage sludge, this is usually
covered by the general regulation on waste incineration.
The standard most commonly adopted modified by many
countries in Europe is the German 17th BImSchV of 1990
(i.e. the 17th regulations of the Federal Emmissions Law).
Generally, the emission limits for waste incineration plants
are much more stringent than for power plants. A compar-
ison between the German 13th BImSchV of 1986 which
governs the emission limits from the coal-fired power
stations and the 17th BImSchV of 1990 which is valid
for waste combustion and also limits from few other coun-
tries is shown in Table 20. It is seen that in cases where
there are comparable limits, those for waste incineration
are lower than those for power stations. The 17th BImSchV
even introduces limits for substances, e.g. PCDD and
PCDF, which have not been regulated at all in the 13th
BImSchV of 1986. The 17th BImSchV also stipulates that
incineration should be carried out with a minimum of 6%
oxygen concentration, minimum combustion temperature
of 850C and a retention of the flue gas at that temperature,
after the last addition of air, for a minimum of 2 sec. The
emission limits of the 17th BImSchV are only guidelines,
whereby for a given waste incineration plant, the local
government authorities may well combine their permission
to build an incineration plant with emission limits which
are even lower than those of the 17th BImSchV if it is
considered technically feasible. For example, the NOx
emission limit of 200 mg/m 3 has already in some cases
been replaced by 100 mg/m 3 and even less. In The Nether-
lands, the NOx limit is already 70 mg/m 3. Past experience
has shown that the trend is to continue lowering the emis-
sion limits with time, and old incineration facilities must
take appropriate measures to improve their emission
performance or face closure. The construction of new
incineration plants requires an arduous permitting proce-
dure, and guarantee must be given that the emission limits
will be met before permission to build and operate them is
granted.
4.3. Post-combustion control of the pollutant emissions
during sewage sludge combustion
4.3.1. Ash and heavy metals
In most municipal solid waste and sewage sludge incin-
eration plants, electrostatic precipitators (ESP) are used for
ash removal. The ESP operate in the temperature range of up
to 400C. In certain cases, cyclones may be installed before
the ESP as a pre-cleaner to remove coarse particles to reduce
ash load as well as protect units, e.g. waste heat recovery
boiler, heat exchangers, fans, etc. from the erosion activity
of the coarse particles in the flue gas. The combination of
ESP and scrubbing enables the meeting of the limits for the
dust particles in the flue gas at the exit.
At the high combustion temperature in the incinerating
plants, most of the heavy metal compounds are vaporized,
but later they condense on the surface of the ash particles in
the cooler part of the steam evaporator and are removed with
the ash [168]. Analysis has shown that about 7898% of Cd,
Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn present in the sewage sludge are
retained in the ash, whereas up to 98% of the mercury
may be released into the atmosphere with the flue gas
[159, 169]. The distribution of the metals in the ash is not
uniform. Heavy metals, e.g. Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Ni, are
generally located in regions near the particles core, whereas
the lighter metals Si, Al, Ca, Na, K are present across the
entire cross-section of a particle with the highest concentra-
tions at the particles surface [169].
Based on the above discussion, the technique for control
of the heavy metals emissions in the flue gas is to employ an
effective ash removal device from the flue gas. With strin-
gent particulate emission limits, the problem of heavy
metals is transferred from an air pollution problem to the
handling of contaminated ash. Current practice in the incin-
eration system is to employ conventional ash removal
devices, e.g. venturi scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators
and ionizing wet scrubbers [160]. Due to the high concen-
trations of heavy metals, the ash from sewage sludge incin-
eration can not be used in the construction industry and must
be deposited in special landfills since the heavy metals may
be dissolved and leached, and thus pollute the ground water
[30]. The solubility of the heavy metals is considered to be
more dangerous than the quantity of ash deposited [168]. In
European countries, there are currently three types of land-
fills for inert waste, non-hazardous wastes and hazardous
waste, depending on the concentration of heavy metals in
the waste for disposal [170]. Experience from MSW flu-
idized bed incinerators shows that the bottom ash can
qualify for inert landfill, the cyclone ash for non-hazardous
landfill and the baghouse filter ash for hazardous landfill
[170]. The concentration of heavy metals in the ash
increases in that order.
As already discussed in Section 2, the problem of leach-
ing is solved during high temperature incineration or gasi-
fication of sewage sludge, in which the ash formed is in a
molten form in which the heavy metals are strongly bound
and have low leaching tendency and can thus be reused in
the construction industry. But even for those furnaces oper-
ating at low temperatures, the ash generated can be smelted.
Processing of incinerated sludge ash is increasingly becom-
ing popular, with Japan taking the lead. The technologies
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
considered, apart from smelting and slag formation, include
granulating of the ash then fired to generate voids and make
a lightweight aggregate, forming the ash by pressing and
then baking to make interlocking bricks, as well as blending
the ash with limestone and annealing at 1450C to produce
ceramic glass [38].
Co-incineration with MSW would not worsen the quality
of the ash since the concentrations of heavy metals in muni-
cipal solid wastes are higher than or comparable to those of
sewage sludge. During the use of sewage sludge in brick
production or during co-combustion in the cement process,
heavy metals emissions are not a problem. In brick produc-
tion, the heavy metals are bound in the matrix of the brick
and are not leachable, whereas during cement production the
heavy metals from sludge are adsorbed in the particles and
returned into the kiln after separation in the electrostatic
precipitator [74, 77]. For other thermal processes for sewage
sludge disposal, different strategies are employed. For
example, during low temperature pyrolysis, most of the
heavy metals of the sewage sludges remain in the coke
and soot, except for mercury [122]. Elutriation tests of the
cokes indicated that the cokes formed could be disposed of
through landfilling without fear of leaching [82]. Indeed,
Kaminsky and Ying [80] reported that the pyrolysis coke
exhibit better properties than the incinerator ash, as concerns
the leaching of heavy metals.
4.3.2. Mercury
Sewage sludge normally contains 14 mg of mercury per
kg of dry matter which exist in various compounds. Due to
their low boiling temperature, in the combustion furnace,
the mercury compounds are readily vaporized and exist in
gas form after combustion [171]. However, due to the
instability of the mercury compounds in the gaseous form
at higher temperatures, more often at above 700C the
compounds decompose to form elementary mercury. The
elementary mercury is not readily soluble and thus, unlike
other heavy metals, is not removed with the ash during post-
combustion flue gas treatments. However, downstream as
the flue gas cools down, it is possible that the metallic
mercury can react with other components of the flue gas
and form compounds [172174].
The capture of mercury in the flue gas cleaning devices
therefore depends on the waste composition, flue gas prop-
erties (temperature, gas composition, etc.), mercury specia-
tion, fly ash and sorbent properties, as well as the types of
control devices [175]. The reaction of mercury with other
components of the flue gas is important for emission control
because, in its ionic form, mercury is soluble and can be
removed in the wet scrubbing stages of flue gas cleaning.
Experiments have shown that mercury reacts mainly with
HCl, Cl2 and O2 to form chloride compounds, whereas reac-
tion with SO2, NOx, NH3 and H2S is insignificant [174].
Consequently, either the elementary mercury or the mercury
chloride (HgCl2) is the predominant species in the flue gas at
the inlet to the scrubbing system. Concentrations of the
97
other mercury species (HgO, HgCl, Hg2Cl2 and HgSO4)
are low in the given temperature range [176]. Because of
the selective reactivity of the elementary mercury with HCl
and Cl2, generally the percentage of the elementary species
in mercury emissions in the raw gas after the incinerator
decreases with an increase in the Cl content of the sludge.
Due to the higher content of Cl of municipal solid wastes
than sewage sludge, a higher percentage of elementary
mercury species is expected during sludge combustion.
Whereas only 510% in the raw gas is normally reported
from municipal solid waste combustion, during sludge
combustion it can be 30% or more [177] of the total mercury
emission in the raw gas. Thus, scrubbing alone may not be
sufficient for the control of mercury emissions from sewage
sludge incinerators.
The control strategies for mercury emissions depend
therefore on the dominant species. The ionic species,
which is predominantly HgCl2, is removed through wet
scrubbing. Modern wet scrubbing systems consist of at
least two stages, the preliminary and main scrubbing stages.
In the preliminary stage, through scrubbing with water HCl
is removed, whereas in the main stage, calcium hydroxide is
used to remove SO2 and gypsum is formed [177]. The
removal of the ionic mercury takes place during the pre-
liminary washing stage. The removal efficiency depends
on three factors, i.e. the solubility of the mercury compound,
mass transfer and the retrievement of the dissolved mercury.
HgCl2 has good solubility in acidic medium, and a good
mass transfer rate can be maintained by avoiding the accu-
mulation of mercury in the scrubbing water through period-
ical removal and replacement. The mercury-laden scrubbing
water is thereafter treated to recover the mercury together
with other heavy metals, e.g through coagulation [175, 177].
The other factor which affects the efficiency is that some flue
gas components may react with the dissolved mercury
compound and release elementary mercury. To reduce this
effect, additives may be added to the scrubbing water or the
flue gas which would react with the mercury compound and
form precipitates. In Germany, some of the additives on the
market include trimercapto-S-triazin (TMT 15) from
Degussa AG and Nalmet A1 from Nalco Chemie GmbH
[177].
For those sewage sludge plants where the percentage of
elementary mercury species is very high and scrubbing is
not sufficient to meet emission limits, further control of the
elementary mercury is therefore necessary. The elementary
mercury may be removed by adsorption on the surface of
active coal or charcoal [173, 175, 175]. Detailed experimen-
tal work has shown that sulphur-doped activated coal has a
higher binding capacity which includes both physical
adsorption and chemical reaction of the elementary ion to
mercury sulphides [176]. There exist other methods, e.g. the
MEDISORBON process in the form of Zeolite in a fixed bed
[178] and the use of other additives for the precipitation of
the heavy metals [180]. Another way is the oxidation of the
metallic mercury by, e.g. hydrogen peroxide [179] and its
98 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 44. The dependence of PCDD/PCDF formation of the S/Cl
ratio [181].
conversion into an ionic form which can thereafter be
removed through washing [175, 177].
4.3.3. Dioxins and furans
Factors affecting the formation and subsequent emissions
of PCDD and PCDF from municipal waste incineration
include the composition and properties of the waste,
combustion conditions, composition of the flue gas, amount
of particulate entrained, flue gas temperature profile, oper-
ating temperatures of particulate removal devices and the
methods for acid gas control [175]. There are three possible
routes of formation of dioxins and furans during sewage
sludge incineration [104, 181]. The first route is the forma-
tion due to incomplete destruction in the combustion
chamber of the compounds containing PCDD/PCDF. Diox-
ins and furans can also be formed from the chlorine
compounds, e.g. chlorophenol or chlorobenzole, present in
the furnace. The third route is the reformation of PCDD/
PCDF from inorganic chlorine compounds and organic
compoundsde novo synthesis [181]. This latter route
takes place with the help of a catalyst, i.e. normally metallic
compounds in the fly ash in the low temperature range in the
heat recovery boiler and ESP regions between 250 and
400C [104, 175, 181]. The metal compounds which
promote the formation of PCDD and PCDF include copper
chloride, oxide and sulphate, as well as oxides of iron, zinc,
nickel and aluminium [175]. The formation mechanism is
considered to be a Deacon reaction catalysed through metal-
lic chloride (CuCl2), as shown below. The Cl2 formed during
the reactions is that which chlorinates the organic
compounds and consequently leads to the formation of the
dioxins and furans.
CuCl2 1=2O2 ! CuO Cl2 14
CuO 2HCl ! CuCl2 Cl2 15
2HCl 1=2O2 ! H2 O Cl2 16
Two parameters which influence the emissions of PCDD/
Fig. 45. Dioxin and furan content of sewage sludges incinerated in
some eight German plants [185].
PCDF are the chlorine content and the ratio of sulphur/
chlorine in the sludge. Whereas the dependence of the emis-
sions of dioxins and furans on the contents of chlorine in the
fuel has been disputed by some researchers [182], most
experiments have shown that the emissions of PCDD/
PCDF increase with an increase in chlorine content of the
fuel (e.g. [56, 181183]). On the other hand, the presence of
SO2 in the flue gas inhibits the formation of dioxins and
furans by removing the chlorine formed during the Deacon
reaction and making it unavailable for reaction with organic
compounds to form dioxin and furans. Indeed, Geiger et al.
[181] have shown experimentally that by increasing the S/Cl
ratio the concentration of dioxins and furans decreases
(Fig. 44).
Since incineration takes place at temperatures higher than
600C, dioxins and furans are completely destroyed, and
therefore the main strategy to control the emission of dioxin
and furans from waste incineration is to avoid their recom-
bination in the flue gas path. This can be achieved by main-
taining a low carbon content in the ash (0.5%) or by
removing about 80% of the ash at higher temperature
(directly after the combustion chamber) with the help of a
cyclone. Up to 80% of the dioxins and furans are retained in
the filter ash. The remaining may be removed further using
active char or coke [161]. The dioxins and furans adsorb on
the surface of the active coal. To increase the effectivity, the
adsorber can be impregnated with iodine, sulphuric acid or
elementary sulphur.
During DIOXIN96, the International Symposium on
Chlorinated Dioxins and Related Compounds held in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands in August 1996, some 50
papers were presented on MSW incinerations [184]. Indica-
tions from several European countries are that with modern
technologies, the incineration of municipal wastes is no
longer a major source of PCDD/PCDF [184]. Consequently,
sludge incineration should generally pose less problem as
concerns dioxin and furans.
Analysis of the contents of dioxins and furans in sewage
sludge samples from over 3000 wastewater treatment plants
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 46. PCDD/PCDF emissions from large scale sewage incineration plants [185].
in Germany indicated that the average content of dioxins
and furans is about 5060 ng TE/kg dry matter [185].
From the analysis, 65% of the sludge samples contained
less than 50 ng TE/kg dry matter, 80% contained less than
100 ng TE/kg dry matter and 98% contained less than
200 ng TE/kg dry matter. Figure 45 shows the contents of
dioxins and furans from some eight sewage sludge treatment
and incineration plants in Germany.
Just like waste incineration, at the temperatures of sludge
incineration, dioxins and furans are completely destroyed,
so that in the incinerator they are present at negligible
concentrations [105, 161]. However, in the flue gas clean-
ing stages where the gas temperature is below 450C, new
formation of dioxins and furans may take place (de novo
synthesis) [181]. Fortunately, the level of dioxins and
furans is lower than from municipal solid waste incinera-
tors because the PCDD/PCDF formed through de novo
synthesis is much higher for MSW incinerators than
sewage sludge combustors. This can certainly be attributed
to the fact that the S/Cl ratio in sewage sludge is 710
times higher than in municipal waste [185]. As already
mentioned, the presence of a high content of sulphur inhi-
bits the formation of dioxins and furans. Thus, it is
normally not difficult for sewage sludge incinerators to
meet the 0.1 ng TEG/m 3 limit of the 17th BImSchV.
Indeed, measurements of dioxins and furans undertaken
in the eight large scale sewage sludge incineration plants,
the input contents of dioxins and furans of which are shown
in Fig. 45, support that statement. In all the plants, the limit
was met and compared to the input concentrations, it can
be said that sludge incineration is not a source but a sink of
dioxins and furans (Fig. 46). Material balance shows that
from the input quantity, over 94% is destroyed during
combustion, whereas less than 1% escapes into the
atmosphere with the flue gas and about 5% is retained in
the ash [185].
4.3.4. SO2, HCl and HF
In municipal solid waste as well as sludge incineration
99
plants, post-combustion SO2, HCl and HF removal through
scrubbing is the state-of-the-art. Where gypsum is formed, it
is disposed of in sanitary filling sites. For wet scrubbing, the
treatment of the scrubbing water may be neccessary [185].
Although it would be possible to achieve the very stringent
SO2 emissions required during sewage sludge combustion in
fluidized bed through in-bed SO2 capture using limestone,
the very high Ca/S ratios required to achieve this make the
technique impracticable [160, 185]. A good illustration of
this is the Berlin-Ruhleben plant (described in Section 2)
from which SO2 emissions of 2500 mg/m 3 are found in the
raw flue gas before cleaning. Assuming 90% in-bed SO2
capture is achieved, this would still leave 250 mg/m 3 in
the flue gas which is still higher than the 50 mg/m 3 limit
of the 17th BImSchV. Furthermore, post-combustion flue
gas cleaning is also necessary for the removal of other pollu-
tants, including mercury, HCl and HF.
4.4. Mechanisms of NOx and N2O formation during coal
combustion, and their relevance to sewage sludge
combustion
4.4.1. Mechanisms of NOx and N2O formation during coal
combustion
A good starting point for a better understanding of the
mechanisms of NOx and N2O emissions formation during
the combustion of sewage sludge is a simplified short review
of NOx formation during coal combustion for which suf-
ficient information is available. NOx is the sum of NO and
NO2 formed during combustion. In the combustion furnace,
NO is the dominant species with NO2 being less than 5%.
However, downstream of the flue gas path, at low tempera-
ture, NO is readily oxidized to NO2. Here, NO and NOx is
interchangeable.
There are three routes of formation of NOx during coal
combustion, i.e. thermal-NO, prompt-NO and fuel-NO.
Thermal-NO is formed through thermal oxidation of the
molecular nitrogen with oxygen in the combustion air at
high temperature (1300C), whereas the fuel-NO is formed
100 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 21
Elementary analyses of some sludges compared to coal [42]
Bituminous Brown Pre-dried
coal coal sludge
water 6.0 36.3 13.0
ash 28.3 48.0 51.0
volatiles 43.8 58.3 92.7
NH3-N n.d. n.d. 1.19
N 1.3 1.4 6.5
from the nitrogen in the fuel [186]. At higher combustion
temperatures, as in pulverized coal combustors and smelting
furnaces, the role of the thermal NOx is significant.
However, at temperatures below 1000C, as practised in
fluidized bed and multiple hearth furnaces, the role of the
thermal NOx is negligible [186]. Apart from the combustion
(flame) temperature, oxygen concentration is another
parameter which affects the level of thermal NOx. High
oxygen concentration and flame temperature lead to high
emissions of thermal NOx.
The additional mechanism that is promptly producing NO
at the flame front is more complicated than thermal-NO,
because the prompt-NO results from the radical CH,
which is formed as an intermediate at the flame front only,
that reacts with the nitrogen of the air, forming HCN which
reacts further to NO [225].
The formation of NOx from fuel nitrogen is more
complex. During devolatilization of coal particles, part of
the fuel nitrogen is released with the volatiles, whereas the
remaining part is retained in the char [187]. Based on the
literature review conducted by Johnsson [187], the dominant
nitrogenous volatile species are NH3 and HCN, and their
concentrations depend on the devolatilization and combus-
tion temperature. At low temperature applicable to fluidized
bed combustion, the study showed that NH3 is the dominant
species, a fact which has been supported by the measure-
ments of A mand [188] who found about 1000 ppm of NH3
in the bottom zone of a 12 MW CFB boiler but only
200 ppm HCN. The split of the nitrogen between the vola-
tiles and the remaining char is roughly proportional to the
volatile matter in the coal.
NOx is therefore formed from two different pathways, i.e.
through the gas phase oxidation of the nitrogenous group in
the volatiles and also through the heterogeneously catalysed
oxidation of the char-bound nitrogen species. In the former
case, the NH3 may decompose to NH2 and NH radicals
which can either be oxidized by O2 to form NO or react
with available NO and OH radicals to form N2 [187].
Thus, NH3 is both a source and reducing agent of NO
depending on the prevailing circumstances. The other nitro-
genous component in the volatile, HCN, may decompose to
NCO with the help of an oxygen radical and thereafter NCO
can react with NO to form N2O [189]. This reaction mechan-
ism is the main N2O formation route during fluidized bed
Wet digested Wet raw Wet limed Unit
sludge sludge sludge
76.0 78.5 55.0 wt% (raw)
51.8 24.8 40.0 wt% (wf)
92.2 wt% (waf)
3.2 2 0.79 wt% (waf)
8.8 5 4.8 wt% (waf)
coal combustion [188]. With regard to the char-bound nitro-
gen, single particle combustion experiments showed that the
main nitrogen species during the combustion of char are
NO, N2O and N2, with NO concentrations being higher
than N2O and the NO and N2O formation being roughly
proportional to the carbon burn out [190]. N2O is highly
temperature sensitive, and at temperatures higher than
900C it decomposes to N2.
The net concentrations of NH3, HCN, NO and N2O from
the furnace are a function of the homogenous gas phase
reactions, the heterogeneously catalysed reactions and the
gas/solid phase reactions. An important player in this is the
char. Char provides a catalytic surface for some gas phase
NO reduction or participates in gassolid reactions. A major
NO reduction process is the reaction of NO with CO cata-
lysed by char particles. It is estimated that about 50% of the
NO formed at the primary stage during bituminous coal
combustion is reduced through this reaction pathway
[191]. Furthermore, char is also very effective for the cata-
lytic reduction of N2O as well as for direct reduction of N2O
[192].
Whereas the role of char in the formation and reduction
mechanisms of NOx and N2O applies to all types of combus-
tion systems, under fluidized bed combustion conditions
other factors come into play. The presence of CaO, MgO
and Fe2O3 from the fuel can lead to the formation of a very
active bed which can be very effective in catalysing the
reduction of NO and N2O [193]. For example, brown coal
is known to contain very finely disperse calcium in its struc-
ture which enriches the bed with CaO during combustion
and forms a very active bed [194].
Based on the understanding of the mechanisms of the
formation and reduction of NOx and N2O, strategies have
been developed for their control during coal combustion.
Parameter studies have shown that NOx generally increases
with an increase in combustion temperature, excess air ratio
and coal nitrogen contents (e.g. [195197]). Staged
combustion and injection of NH3 or urea are effective tech-
niques for NOx reduction in coal combustion (e.g. [198
200]). N2O emissions have been found relevant only to flui-
dized bed combustion because of its low temperature opera-
tion. Experiments from a wide range of researchers have
shown that increasing the combustion temperature, using
low ranking coal, use of limestone in the bed and combustion
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 47. NOx and N2O emissions from coals and pre-dried sludge
granulates [208, 209].
at decreasing oxygen concentration lead to low N2O emis-
sions (e.g. [201204]). Thus, staged combustion and
increasing off-gas temperature are effective for N2O reduc-
tion during fluidized bed combustion [200, 202, 205].
4.4.2. Peculiar characteristics of sewage sludge
Generally, the formation mechanisms of NOx and N2O of
coal combustion are also expected to apply for sewage
sludge combustion. However, some considerations may
need to be given to the peculiar characteristics of sewage
sludge (Table 21). These are mainly the high contents of
nitrogen, volatile matter and ash on one hand, and the low
content of fixed carbon on the other. A further peculiarity is
the high content of moisture for wet sewage sludge.
The nitrogen content of the sewage sludge is normally
around 68 wt% (waf), although nitrogen content of up to
10 wt% has been reported [109]. A reasonable part of the
fuel nitrogen is bonded in the form of ammonia compounds.
During drying of sewage sludge, part of the ammonia is
released. Measurements have shown that the condensate
from a sewage sludge dryer contains 190 mg/l and
2310 mg/l of NH3 during drying temperatures of 150 and
350C, respectively [206]. Thus, mechanically dewatered
(wet) sludge has a higher nitrogen content than pre-dried
sludge. Differences also exist amongst the wet sludges in
101
Fig. 48. Fuel nitrogen conversion ratios to NO and N2O. (Data from
Ogada [42] for sludges, Hampartsoumian et al. [212], Horio et al.
[213] and Pels et al. [214] for coals; the figures in the graph for the
NO conversion ratio indicate the fuel nitrogen contents.)
terms of nitrogen content depending on the method of
sludge stabilization and conditioning employed. For exam-
ple, thermal conditioning and stabilization of sludge leads to
partial release of its ammonia with the vapour and thus
lowers the nitrogen content [10]. Similarly, conditioning
of sewage sludge with limestone leads to some loss of
NH3 of the sludge due to partial decomposition of NH3 on
the surface of the limestone.
Another important aspect is the release of a significant
part of the sludge nitrogen during devolatilization. Wirsum
[109] pyrolysed sewage sludge particles at 800C and found
that 5676% of the sludge nitrogen was released with the
volatiles. From the experiments of Rumphorst [122], even
higher figures of up to 90% were reported. This, however, is
to be expected due to the high volatile matter content. As has
already been mentioned, the split of nitrogen between the
volatiles and char is roughly proportional to the volatile
matter of the coal [187]. Experiments from Kummer [119]
showed that NH3 is the dominant nitrogen species released
during sewage sludge pyrolysis.
Another important consideration for wet sludge combus-
tion is the effect of drying on the release and oxidation of the
nitrogenous species with the volatiles. This is because the
processes of drying and devolatilization run parallel to each
other and take place at very low particle temperature [110].
102 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 49. CO and NOx as a function of excess air ratio [68, 111].
Apart from having a high content of ash, the ash formed
during the combustion of sewage sludge has high contents
of CaO and Fe2O3. Von Raczeck [111] found 9 wt% Fe2O3
and 18 wt% of CaO in the filter ash during the combustion of
pre-dried sewage sludge [111]. If accumulated in the bed or
on the grate, they may form a reactive bed suitable for both
NOx and N2O reduction, but also formation. Finally, sewage
sludge has very low fixed carbon and consequently low
carbon load in the bed [123]. As a result, the influence of
the char on the formation and reduction of NOx and N2O is
considered not to be as important during sewage sludge
combustion as it is for coal combustion [207].
4.5. NOx and N2O emissions from mono-combustion of
sewage sludge in the FBC
4.5.1. NOx and N2O emissions during combustion of pre-
dried sewage sludge granulates
Information available on the NO and N2O emissions
during the combustion of pre-dried sewage sludges in
bubbling and circulating fluidized beds show that sludges
and coals exhibit similar characteristics (e.g. [111, 208
211], cf. Fig. 47).
Fig. 50. NOx and N2O during unstaged and staged combustion of dry sludge in a fluidized bed combustor [208, 209].
A comparison of the conversion ratios of the fuel nitrogen
to NOx and N2O for sewage sludge with those obtained by
Hampartsoumian and Gibbs [212], Horio [213], and Pels et
al. [214] has shown that sewage sludges exhibit much lower
conversion ratios than most coals (Fig. 48). The low conver-
sion ratios for sewage sludge may be attributed to the high
contents of CaO and Fe2O3 of sewage sludge which are
effective in the reduction of NOx and N2O. The determined
conversion ratios of sewage sludge fit very well with the
analyses of Pels et al. [214] (for N2O) and those compiled
by Ogada [42] from the data obtained by Hampartsoumain
and Gibbs [212], and Horio [213], which show a decreasing
trend of the conversion ratios to NOx and N2O with an
increase in the contents of volatile matter. However, this
is not always true. For example, Kicherer et al. [215]
found that NO emissions from coal and wood combustion
in a large scale circulating fluidized bed combustor were
almost identical despite the difference in fuel nitrogen
content. It should be noted in this context that the measured
conversion ratio is the net result of nitrogen oxide formation
and destruction reactions. It might therefore be that the
general tendencies observed in the laboratory reactor exper-
iments underlying to Fig. 48 might be different in commer-
cial combustors, as is indicated by Kicherer et al.s [215]
findings. More data from large scale units are needed to
clarify this situation.
Detailed parameter studies for the combustion of pre-
dried sewage sludge granulates can be found in the work
or reports of Werther et al. [208, 209], Vogel et al. [210],
Hanssen [211], von Raczeck [111] and Philippek [68]. They
have shown that, just like coal combustion, NOx and N2O
emissions from sewage sludge granulates increase with an
increase in excess air ratio. Increasing combustion tempera-
ture leads to high NOx and low N2O emissions. An unusual
behaviour is the reported presence of an NOx peak around
the stoichiometric point (Fig. 49) [68, 111].
Staged combustion and selective non-catalytic reduction
(SNCR) are also useful for emission control during the
combustion of pre-dried sewage sludge. Werther et al.
[208, 209] have reported a significant reduction of CO,
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Fig. 51. Influence of the injection of NH3 and urea in the freeboard
on NOx emissions [42].
NOx and N2O using staged combustion. NOx emissions
could be decreased from 9001300 mg/m 3 to less than
260 mg/m 3, and N2O emissions drop from above 300 to
less than 100 mg/m 3 (Fig. 50).
Significant reduction of N2O and CO could also be
achieved by increasing the freeboard temperature [209]. In
SNCR, Ogada [42] injected both NH3 [reaction (17)] and
urea [reaction (18)] during the combustion of pre-dried
sludge and achieved reduction of NOx from a range of
7001050 mg/m 3 to less than 200 mg/m 3 with a molar
Fig. 52. Emissions of CO and NOx from wet and pre-dried sludges
in the FBC [208].
103
Fig. 53. Combustion of lime-stabilized wet sewage sludge [42].
ratio as low as 24 (Fig. 51).
4NO 4NH3 O2 ! 4N2 6H2 O 17
CONH2 2 2NO 1=2O2 ! 2N2 CO2 2H2 O 18
The experiments were conducted at a constant oxygen
concentration of 6 vol% in the flue gas, and both the bed
and freeboard temperatures were maintained at 850C.
4.5.2. NOx emissions during combustion of wet sewage
sludge
Unlike pre-dried sludge, mechanically dewatered (wet)
sludge appears not to exhibit similar NOx characteristics
as coals [42, 68, 209]. Firstly, despite having higher nitrogen
contents than pre-dried sludge, very low NOx are measured
during the combustion of wet sludge in both bubbling and
circulating fluidized bed test units (e.g. Fig. 52). Secondly,
wet sludge exhibits an unusual NOx/O2 trend; NOx decreases
as the oxygen concentration increases and the effect of the
combustion temperature on NOx is insignificant. The appli-
cation of both staged combustion and SNCR of NOx does
not give a reduction in NOx [42, 68]. Philippek and Werther
[207], and Ogada [42] attribute these peculiar NOx charac-
teristics to the high NH3 in the sludges which acts in a
manner similar to that of SNCR reactions. On the other
hand, the low temperature at which the drying and
Fig. 54. Axial profiles of NOx, CO and CxHy from wet sludge [42].
104 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
devolatilization takes place is also considered responsible
for the low NOx emissions [208] since the oxidation of the
volatiles near the surface of the particles takes place at a low
temperature which is conducive for low NOx. For the sludge
granulates, volatile oxidation takes place at high tempera-
tures.
The above-described behaviour of wet sludge is not
exhibited by all sludges. The sludge stabilization and con-
ditioning method applied may be important. For example,
Ogada [42] burnt lime-stabilized sewage sludge and ther-
mally conditioned sludge in a bubbling fluidized bed
combustor, and Philippek [68] burnt lime-stabilized sewage
sludge in a circulating fluidized bed test facility. In both
cases and for both sludges, NOx increased as O2 was
increased above 4 vol%, and at higher oxygen concentra-
tions, NOx levels were more or less similar to those from
single stage combustion of pre-dried sludge. Furthermore,
the two samples reacted positively to staged combustion
(Fig. 53). Both sludges had low NH3 content.
Measurements by Ogada [42] of axial profiles of NOx in
the bubbling fluidized bed combustor show that the low NOx
obtained at the combustor exit was a result of intensive NOx
reduction in the bed and splash region. Contrary to the
expectation, very high NOx values of up to 3000 mg/m 3
are formed in the lower part of the combustor but are rapidly
reduced to less than 500 mg/m 3 within a residence time of
less than 1 sec, as shown in Fig. 54. The formation and
reduction of NOx takes place parallel to the release and
combustion of the volatiles, the NOx and CO peaks being
attained at the same location above the distributor plate, and
the rapid reduction of NOx coincides with the rapid oxida-
tion of CO and the combustion of CxHy. During this period
there is also a rapid decrease of NH3.
4.6. Emissions during co-combustion of sewage sludge
4.6.1. Co-combustion in pulverized coal combustors
Some information about the emissions during co-combus-
tion of sewage sludge with coals in pulverized coal combus-
tors is available. For example, the group under Prof. Hein of
the Institute of Process Engineering and Power Plant
Fig. 55. NOx from a preblended coalsludge mixture [215].
Technology, University of Stuttgart, Germany has
conducted a wide range of experiments on co-firing of
coal with sewage sludge and other biomass in their
500 kW pulverized coal test unit with a diameter of
0.75 m and a total height of 7 m. Various aspects of the
investigations have been presented in different national
and international forums (e.g. [215217]). Abbas et al.
[58] have also reported results of experiments conducted
in a 0.5 MW pulverized coal combustor. They analysed
the emissions of three flames, one from 100% coal-firing,
another with 16% (thermal) sludge and the third with 100%
sludge firing. They have complimented their experience
with a co-firing of sewage sludge in the 88 MW burner
test facility of Rolls Royce International Combustion,
Derby, U.K. Morgen and van de Kamp [218, 219] co-fired
sewage sludge with coal, unmixed and blended, and under-
took emission measurements at different parameters, and
their results have also been presented. In all cases, as is
normal for pulverized co-firing, the sludge was pre-dried,
milled and fired in a pulverized form either separately or
pre-blended with coal.
4.6.1.1. Burnout and CO emissions. The results show that
if sewage sludge is well dried and milled to a particle size
less than 100200 mm, then the combustion efficiency is not
significantly affected. Burn-out efficiencies of more than
9799% and low CO emissions can be achieved just as
with biomass. The combustion efficiency, however,
decreases slightly at a higher mass ratio of sludge due to
increased ash production. Even at 100% sludge there was no
significant change in CO and combustor temperature [215].
4.6.1.2. NOx emissions. Several factors were found to
influence the NOx emission during co-firing of sewage
sludge with coal in pulverized coal combustors. Firstly,
the effect of the high content of nitrogen in sludge is very
significant during single-stage combustion of a pre-blended
mixture of sewage sludge and coal. NOx emissions increases
rapidly with an increase in the sludge ratio contrary to
emissions from biomass co-firing (Fig. 55). However, in
another investigation, Morgen and Van de Kamp [219]
Fig. 56. NOx from separate feeding of coal and sludge in a multifuel
burner [215].
 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
Table 22
CO and NOx emissions from co-combustion of sewage sludge with coal in FBC [220]
Bituminous coal
Sludge ratio, in % 0 15
CO, mg/m 3 (6 vol.%) 130 175
NOx, mg/m 3 (6 vol%) 765 835
found that at sludge ratios higher than 50% by mass, NOx
emissions attain a peak and thereafter NOx decreases with an
increase in sludge ratio. Secondly, during separate feeding
of sludge and coal in a multifuel burner, low NOx emissions
are obtained if the sludge is fed in the centre with the coal in
the annulus. For the reverse feeding arrangement, high NOx
emissions were reported (Fig. 56).
The emission reduction techniques, e.g. staged combus-
tion and fuel reburning, also work well during co-firing with
sewage sludge in pulverized coal combustors. More than
50% NOx reduction was achieved during staged combustion
of a pre-blended mixture of coal and sludge compared to
unstaged combustion of the same.
The main explanation for the low NOx emissions during
sludge feeding in the centre of a multifuel burner with coal
in the annulus, as well as for the reduction of NOx during
staged combustion and the use of sludge as a reburning fuel
is that the low volatile and nitrogen coal is burnt in the
oxygen-rich zone leading to the formation of high concen-
trations of NO and lowering oxygen concentration in the
region where sludge is introduced. Thus, sludge nitrogen
is released in an oxygen-deficient region leading preferen-
tially to reduction reactions between NO and NHi radicals.
Furthermore, high CO concentrations also play a part.
4.6.1.3. SO2, HCl and dioxin emissions. Just as with NOx,
the emissions of SO2 and HCl in a pulverized flame are
normally strongly correlated with the contents of sulphur
and chlorine in the sewage sludge. Since 90100% of the
fuel S is converted into SO2 during combustion, a higher
fuel S input results in linearly higher SO2 emissions. This is
also true for HCl emissions. Therefore, for co-combustion of
sewage sludge in coal power plants, if the contents of
sulphur and chlorine in the sludge are higher than those of
coal, an increase in SO2 and HCl emissions may be expected
[215, 219].
Table 23
Ash balance during co-combustion with sewage sludge in a FBC [220]
Thermal input Sludge, Bituminous Total ash in,
coal/sludge kg/hr coal, kg/hr kg/hr
100/0 0 27.6 0.8
85/15 10.5 18.9 6.0
75/25 18.3 16.5 9.5
105
Anthracite coal
25 0 19 37
165 186 305 175
780 800 1370 925
4.6.2. Co-combustion in fluidized bed
Detailed information about the emission characteristics of
co-combustion of sewage sludge with coals in fluidized bed
combustors have been reported by van Doorn et al. [220]
and Philippek [68]. Van Doorn co-fired dry sewage sludge
with bituminous and anthracite coals in a 350 kW bubbling
fluidized bed test facility with a cross-section of 0.45
0.45 m and a height of 5.1 m. Unlike co-firing in pulverized
coal combustors, the tests showed that co-firing of sewage
sludge with coals in FBC leads to an insignificant increase in
NO and CO concentrations in the flue gas. NOx emissions
even improved with an increase in sludge ratio. Apparently,
the effect of the catalytic property of the sludge ash helps in
maintaining NOx levels despite the increase in nitrogen
input (Table 22). However, SO2 and HCl concentrations
increased very rapidly with sludge addition. At the 75/25
(coal/sludge) firing ratio, 463 mg/m 3 of HCl was measured
which is 10 times higher than for pure coal combustion. The
high ash content of the sludge also led to a drastic increase
of ash in the flue gas and accumulation of part of the ash in
the bed (Table 23). The higher combustion efficiency of the
sludge together with the high ash content compared to the
coals resulted in a reduction of the carbon in the cyclone and
filter ash from 75% to less than 20% during co-firing.
A very interesting case is the co-firing of wet sewage
sludge with coal in which the effective NOx reducing proper-
ties of NH3 are also applicable. Philippek [68] co-fired coal
with wet sludge [moisture76 wt%, N8.8 wt% and
NH3 3.2% (waf)] in a circulating fluidized bed test unit.
NOx decreased as the sludge-to-coal ratio, a ,
 
m_ sludge; dry kg
a 19
m_ sludge; dry m_ coal; dry kg
was increased up to about 20%, thereafter NOx increased
again (Fig. 57).
The NOx reduction was considered a significant achieve-
ment of co-combustion given the high nitrogen content of
Cyclone, Filter, Total ash out,
kg/hr kg/hr kg/hr
0.7 0.05 0.75
4.6 0.3 4.9
5.8 0.4 6.2
106 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

4.7. Experience from large scale sewage sludge combustors

Information from large scale combustors is always useful

Fig. 57. CO, NO and N2O emissions during co-firing of sludge with
coal in CFB combustor [68].
the sludge. However, co-firing may lead to higher CO and
N2O. Fortunately, the two can be reduced easily by increas-
ing the freeboard temperature or using an afterburner
chamber. Due to the low temperature operation of the
fluidized bed, it is possible to reduce the SO2 formed
through in situ capture by limestone which, as shown by
the tests of Philippek [68], would also lead to a reduction
in N2O but at the expense of NOx which is higher.
to increase the level of confidence in their operation for
those who may want to use the technology as well as in
verifying the results from laboratory test rigs. Particularly
in the case of sewage sludge combustion in which a lot of
efforts are still required in order to enhance good public
image and acceptance, information about the performance
of sludge incinerators is very useful.
During the 13th FBC Conference in Orlando, FL, test
measurements on the commissioning of two sewage sludge
fluidized bed combustors were reported [221]. The boilers
were supplied to Somerset-Rarita Valley Sewerage Author-
ity (SRVSA) and Two Bridges Sewerage Authority (TBSA)
by Hankin Environmental Systems, NJ. The SRVSA and
TBSA combustors had capacities of 5200 and 5400 kg/hr,
respectively. The emission tests were conducted as a
precondition for obtaining permanent operating permits
from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protec-
tion and Energy (NJDEPE). For both combustors, the
sewage sludge was dewatered using a belt filter press to
about 25% dry matter and fed into the combustors using
positive displacement pumps. The bed temperatures were
around 620C, whereas the freeboard temperatures were
higher due to freeboard combustion. The combustors
were furnished with scrubbers and electrostatic precipita-
tors for the control of the particulates and gaseous emis-
sions. Tables 24 and 25 shows the results of the
performance tests from one of the combustors as concerns
the emissions. The scrubbers and particulate control equip-
ment showed very high operation efficiencies. Except for
mercury, collection efficiencies for all the heavy metals
were between 98.7 and 99.999%. Collection efficiencies
for the particulate and HCl were higher than 99%, and
for SO2 the efficiency was 94.897.1%. The emissions of
particulate, SO2 and HCl, CO, NOx and VOCs, as well as
the heavy metals were well below the NJDEPE limits.
During the 14th FBC conference in Vancouver (1997),
Albrecht and Schelhaas [139] of Lurgi Energie and Umwelt
GmbH reported the 54 000 t/a (dry matter) capacity CFBC
sludge incinerator which was commissioned in 1993 in
Dordrecht, The Netherlands. The combustor burnt semi-

Table 24
Emission performance of SRVSA combustor [221]

Component Input loading Scrubber outlet Stack outlet Overall efficiency NJDEPE limit

Particulate 714 0.18 0.0663 99.99% 0.7

SOx 39.7 1.87 1.15 97.1% 2.6
HCl 2.64 0.043 0.02 99.2% 1.15
CO 0.205 2.3
NOx 0.661 7.4
VOCs 0.02 1.5

All values in lb/hr unless otherwise noted.

 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116 107

Table 25

Parameters As Be Cd Cr Cu Pb Hg Ni Se Zn

Input loading 0.0216 0.0071 0.0060 0.0732 1.33 0.22 0.0077 0.0279 0.0014 1.11
Scrubber efficiency in % 99.65 99.91 99.85 99.99 99.98 99.97 2.4 99.96 94.00 99.99
ESP efficiency in % 3 2.89 97.5 24.0 67.4 6.0 7.7 66.4 78.3 59.9

Table 26
The details of the combustors and their CO, NOx and N2O emission performance (mg/m 3)

Plant Commis. Type Sludge Sludge Limed Drying H2O % Bed Fr. Second.
year origin type at inlet temp temp air

1,2 1985/1986 FBC M raw no no 72 700 875 no

3 1982 MHF M digest yes no 59 900 yes
4 1981/1990 EW M raw no yes 70 850 900 no
5 1982 FBC M raw no yes 5560 850 890 yes
6 1981 FBC M digest no yes 55 780 850 yes
7 1979/1987 FBC M raw yes 65 735 840 yes
8 1977/1995 FBC M digest no yes 54 800 910 no
9 1974 FBC I raw no no 53 800 975 yes
10 1992 FBC I raw no no 53 870 975 yes
11 MHF I raw yes no 65 870 1000 yes
12 1995 FBC I raw yes no 62 780 875 yes

FBCfluidized bed furnace, MHFmultiple hearth furnace, EWEtagenwirbler, Mmunicipal sewage sludge, Iindustrial sewage
sludge, n.d.not detectable.

Table 27

Plant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

CO 25 35 20 58 15 18 51 33 25 36 18 20
NOx 19 19 200 230 145 50 186 72 129 161 217 165
N2O 151 151 n.d. n.d. 200 118 105 n.d. 7 n.d. n.d. n.d.

dried sludge. The combustor has a multistage washing for
HCl and SO2 removal followed by a fixed bed absorber to
eliminate Hg. The report shows that NOx emissions below
200 mg/m 3 are realisable. An important aspect of this report
is the presentation of the NOx/O2 trend which also showed a
decrease of NOx with an increase in O2 which supports the
results from laboratory-scale combustors (see Section 4).
Very useful information is also provided in the four
reports published in Korrespondenz Abwasser [222, 223]
which give some details of the operation parameters of
several sewage sludge incineration plants in Germany and
discuss the emissions from the combustors.
One report [222] discusses the emissions of CO, NOx and
N2O collected from 12 plants, which included nine fluidized
bed furnaces, two multiple hearth furnaces and one Etagen-
wirbler. The latter furnace is a special Lurgi design which
combines a multiple hearth furnace with a fluidized bed
combustor in the bottom section [50]. Nine of the plants
were burning municipal sewage sludge, whereas four were
burning industrial sludge. The moisture contents of the feed
sludge vary between 53 and 72 wt%, with seven plants
processing mechanically dewatered sludge and five semi-
dried. The details of the combustors and their emission
performance are given here in Tables 26 and 27.
The operational parameters of the combustors are char-
acterized by higher freeboard temperatures (850950C)
than those of the bed. The combustors operate at oxygen
concentrations in the flue gas ranging between 6 and
11 vol%. For comparison, all the measurements were
corrected to 11 vol% O2, based on dry flue gas. Due to the
high freeboard temperatures, low CO emissions are achiev-
able and the German 17th BImSchV limits are met in all
cases except for plants no. 4 and 7. Similarly, due to the high
freeboard temperature, N2O is not a problem to several
plants. The NOx emissions range between 19 and 230 mg/
m 3 with FBC showing better performance than multiple
hearth furnaces. No significant emission differences can be
observed between municipal and industrial sewage sludge
108 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116

Table 28 on one hand and between digested and raw sludge on the other.
Mercury reduction techniques in large scale sludge incinerators The importance of the application of secondary air depends on
the characteristics of the sludge, the details of which are not
Plant Hg (mg/m 3) Hg control techniques employed
available, but it is also seen that with single stage combustion
1 0.0070.030 Acid scrubber HCl addition still very low NOx emissions (19145 mg/m 3) are realised.
2 0.0080.015 Scrubber with NaCIO2 oxidizer The CO, NOx and N2O performance more or less agrees with
3 0.015 Wet scrubber sulphur the results of the laboratory scale test units. This shows the
impregnated AC-adsorber importance of laboratory-scale units in enabling the rapid
4 0.0100.020 Wet scrubber coke adsorber prediction of emissions performance of planned sludge
with coke incineration units so long as the experimental parameters
5 0.007 Wet acid scrubber HC are carefully chosen to correspond to those of large-scale
addition
combustion. The particularly important parameters here
6 0.030 Wet scrubber (Ca(OH)2) TMT
15 precipitator
include bed and freeboard temperature, feed characteristics,
7 0.030 Sorbalit bed adsorber oxygen concentration in the flue gas, the degree of air
8 0.015 AC adsorber CaCO3 staging and residence time of the flue gas in the combustor.
Ca(OH2) The other report [223] presented mercury emissions and
9 0.0030.004 Wet scrubber the technology employed for the control of mercury from 11
10 0.045 Scrubber with NaCIO2 oxidizer different sewage incineration plants in Germany. All the
11 n.m. Wet scrubber TMT 15 plants are equipped with wet scrubbers where nearly almost
precipitator sorbalit adsorber all ionic mercury is removed (Table 28). This is effective
12 n.m. Injection of Na2S4 before wet particularly for those plants for which a large part of the
scrubber sorbalit adsorber
mercury in the flue gas is in the form of ionic species due to

Fig. 58. Sewage sludge combustion plant at Ulm-Steinhaule [223].

Fig. 59. Sewage sludge combustion plant at Stuttgart-Muhlhausen [223].

 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
the high contents of Cl in the sludges burnt. It is possible to
achieve mercury emissions much lower than the limits
through wet scrubbing alone, which is the case with plant
nos 1, 57. To increase the efficiency, plant no. 6 is adding
TMT-15. The plants in which after the removal of the ionic
mercury through scrubbing the level of mercury emissions is
still higher, have to employ further techniques for the reduc-
tion of the predominantly elementary mercury. The tech-
nique most used is the adsorption on the surface of active
coal and coke as well as sorbalit adsorber. The use of an
oxidizer to convert the elementary mercury into ionic
mercury is employed in two cases.
The level of mercury in the filter ash is not high. It is in
the range of 0.10.4 mg/kg of ash which represents 16% of
the input mercury in the sludge. However, it has been
observed that injection of limestone in the combustor for
SO2 capture increases the content of mercury in the ash by
50% since limestone adsorbs mercury.
Figures 58 and 59 show flow diagrams process units of
selected plants to illustrate the flue gas treatment systems
currently employed in sludge incineration plants.
At the sewage sludge incineration plant of Ulm-Stein-
haule (Fig. 58), the flue gas cleaning system consists of a
single-stage ash removal using an electrostatic precipitator
and a two-stage scrubbing unit, venturi scrubber and packed
bed scrubber. The venturi scrubber operates under an acidic
medium (pH less or equal to 1) which is achieved through
the addition of HCl, whereas the packed bed scrubber is
operated at almost neutral medium and the pH is raised
through the addition of NaOH. The removal of dust, HCl,
HF and heavy metals takes place in both scrubbing units. By
increasing the pH of the second scrubber, SO2 is mainly
removed there. The scrubbing water from both units is
recycled, and partial loss with vapour and salts is covered
by feeding fresh scrubbing water. The mercury in the flue
gas is removed primarily during scrubbing. Additionally,
active coke is injected into the flue gas after second stage
scrubbing and this helps to adsorb mercury as well as diox-
ins and furans. These are removed with the coke from the
baghouse filter.
The plant at Stuttgart-Muhlhausen (Fig. 59) consists of
two-stage ash removal using electrostatic precipitator
(ESP), semi-dry scrubbing and a further two-stage wet
scrubbing. After ash removal in the electrostatic precipita-
tor, the flue gas enters a spray drier at a temperature of
220C and is intensively mixed with the scrubbing medium.
This leads to breaking up and drying of the removed pollu-
tants into finer particles. The larger particles are thereafter
removed from the bottom of the dryer, whereas the finer
particles are entrained in the flue gas and removed in the
second electrostatic precipitator where the ash content of the
flue gas is reduced to less than 100 mg/m 3. The flue gas is
thereafter led into the venturi scrubber in which water is
used for scrubbing and finally into a second scrubber in
which NaOH is injected. For the removal of mercury, both
coke and TMT-15 are used. The coke is also effective for the
109
removal of dioxins and furans. The ash and coke are
removed in the second ESP and are landfilled.
4.8. Summary
Of greatest concern during the combustion of sewage
sludge is the release of gaseous and solid pollutants into
the atmosphere. Whereas the problems of ash disposal and
leaching of heavy metals may be solved or reduced during
high temperature combustion and gasification, the problem
of heavy metals still remains unsolved in the conventional
multiple hearth and fluidized bed furnaces. The emissions of
mercury, dioxine and furans are currently controllable, and
many large scale incinerators of sewage sludge are able to
meet stringent emission limits using state-of-the-art technol-
ogies. An interesting observation is that despite the high
content of nitrogen, sewage sludge combustion is character-
ized by low net emissions of NOx with the conversion ratio
of fuel N to NOx being less than 5%. Experience from large
scale plants also indicates the same. It is therefore evident
that the bad public image sewage sludge incineration seems
to suffer is unwarranted.
5. Conclusion
In this review paper, it has been shown that thermal
processing of sewage sludge, especially combustion, will
play an important role for sewage sludge disposal. Several
technologies currently exist for both mono- and co-combus-
tion of sewage sludge in which high combustion (thermal
destruction) efficiencies are achievable. With modern and
effective flue gas cleaning technologies currently available
in incineration plants, the combustion of sewage sludge can
meet very strict emission limits, and where the incinerated
ash is smelted and reused, the possibility of leaching of
heavy metals from landfilling sites into the ground water
is reduced. The emissions of dioxins and furans are lower
from sludge incineration plants than from waste incinera-
tors and mercury emissions are below the limits. Despite its
high content of nitrogen, NOx emissions are much lower
than experienced from coal combustion, whereas N2O and
CO are easily reduced at higher combustion temperatures.
All these facts summed together indicate that there is no
reason why sewage sludge combustion should continue
having a bad public image. Perhaps an intensive flow of
information, especially from existing large scale sewage
sludge combustors, to the public can enhance the confi-
dence of the public.
Acknowledgements
Fluidized bed combustion research at the Technical
University of Hamburg-Harburg is financed by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft through Sonderforschungsbereich
238. The combustion group has been further supported
110 J. Werther, T. Ogada / Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 25 (1999) 55116
through International Joint Research Grant, by Japans
NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Develop-
ment Organisation). This substantial support is gratefully
acknowledged. One of the authors (TO) would also like to
thank the German Academic Exchange Programme
(DAAD) and Moi Universitys Committee of Deans for
their support.
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