Austria-headed international technology group major Andritz AG (ANDRITZ) has announced that it has been selected by German municipal waste management company RBB KSVA Vermögensgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (RBB) to build a cutting-edge sewage sludge mono-incineration plant at RBB's waste-to-energy (WtE) site in Böblingen.
With this new plant, RBB is laying the foundation for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to sewage sludge treatment that supplies energy and enables the recovery of valuable phosphorus.
The integration of a flue gas condensation system combined with heat pumps will significantly increase the plant’s overall energy efficiency.
With the planned sewage sludge mono-incineration plant, we will ensure long-term waste disposal security for the region, create a state-of-the-art facility with strong innovative potential, and secure important local jobs. This is a significant milestone for cross-municipal collaboration as well as for preserving the environment and resources. The sewage sludge utilization plant is both a response to legal requirements and a major regional project for the future. It will enable the safe and sustainable utilization of sewage sludge, strengthen our energy infrastructure, and combine municipal responsibility with technological innovation, commented Dr Frank Schumacher, Managing Director and Sascha Hejny, Commercial Director of RBB.
Sludge-fired combined heat and power
The steam generated by the incineration process will be used to produce electricity for the public grid.
In addition, the combination of flue gas condensation and heat pump technology will supply heat to the local district heating network.
ANDRITZ will supply equipment for sewage sludge reception, conveying, drying (including vapor condensation and condensate treatment), and incineration with an adiabatic EcoFluid bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler system.
The scope also includes a multi-stage flue gas cleaning system, heat pumps, a steam turbine with a generator, the water-steam cycle, and various auxiliary systems.
With an order value in the “low three-digit million-euro” range, ANDRITZ’s scope includes engineering, supply, erection, and commissioning of the entire mechanical and process equipment.
The plant is scheduled to start operation in November 2028.
Compliant with AbfKlärV 2029
Designed for a capacity of 36,000 tonnes of dry matter per year, the highly efficient plant will thermally treat sewage sludge from more than 70 municipalities and associations across Baden-Württemberg.
This ensures resource-efficient and environmentally friendly disposal in line with the German Sewage Sludge Ordinance (AbfKlärV), which requires the recovery of phosphorus from sludge starting in 2029.
Phosphorus is a valuable, but limited resource and an essential component of fertilizers in agriculture.
Mono-incineration of sewage sludge produces sewage sludge ash (SSA) from which phosphorus can be recovered and recycled for fertilizer production.
This supports the circular economy while preventing soil contamination from pollutants contained in sewage sludge.
This third order for a sewage sludge mono-incineration plant in Germany in just over a year continues our success story in this market and demonstrates our ability to adapt to our customers’ specific needs. We are honored to partner with RBB on this forward-looking project and to contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future, said Thiemo Klein, Project Manager, Sales at ANDRITZ.
