United Utilities leads sludge management research

The END-O-SLUDG Consortium will undertake a three year programme of work that will research novel sewage treatment processes.

The research will address not only EU energy policies and climate change mitigation strategies, but also look to develop sustainable and economic markets for sludge derived products.

The programme, coordinated by United Utilities Water, is being undertaken by 14 European partners drawn from the water, resource and waste management and agricultural industries, along with academia.

The project will focus on a number of areas that will address the challenges that the industry faces.

Researchers will be looking at: processes to reduce sludge volumes, energy efficiency, market development, regulatory issues and the assessment of the possible health and environmental risks associated with sludge recycling to garner greater public confidence.

United Utilities’ technology development manager, Son Le, who is the project coordinator said: “For the first time we will attempt to use a holistic approach in developing advanced technologies for system solutions that will tackle the issues all the way from wastewater and sludge treatment through downstream processing to the market development and environmental impact assessment.

“The provision of water and the management of wastewater place a huge pressure on the environment, but we believe that END-O-SLUDG will make significant advances to reducing the impact, reducing customer costs and carbon emissions and paving the way for sustainable markets for sludge derived products.”

For more information visit end-o-sludg.eu.

Natasha Wiseman