«Management and utilization of sewage sludge in the circular economy using green technologies and methods»
This project (acronym: DIALKOP) presents a modern model for the management of biological sludge resulting from municipal wastewater treatment based on the circular economy, testing and using sustainable technologies such as constructed wetlands, methods such as composting and biochar production, and practices such as reuse in agriculture and wastewater treatment, towards the beneficial conversion and utilization of this valuable by-product.
The project is financed by the Green Fund of Greece in the framework of Priority Axis 3: Research and Implementation, of the funding program: “Natural Environment & Innovative Actions 2022”.
In Greece, more than 50% of the sewage sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) ends up in landfills, with limited reuse (eg in agriculture, composting). With the exception of the two largest cities (Athens, Thessaloniki) where the dried sludge is utilized as a fuel, in the rest small and medium-sized WWTPs of the country (as is the case of Crete) linear management is carried out consisting of thickening and dewatering with mechanical and chemical methods (eg calcification, addition of polyelectrolytes, belt presses, filter presses, centrifuges) and daily transportation and disposal of the dried sludge in landfills. This strategy is often economically unsustainable due to the high associated costs, as the total sludge management costs could represent up to 40-60% of the operating costs of the entire WWTP due to the high energy consumption and daily transportation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
The main goal of the project is to study and present a modern, innovative and integrated model of circular management and utilization of the sewage sludge produced at the wastewater treatment plants, as an holistic environmental solution to the existing management problem based on the circular economy principles.