How can you recycle the world's stockpiles of treated sewage sludge and boost sustainability in the construction industry, all at the same time? Turn those biosolids into bricks.

Biosolids are a by-product of the wastewater treatment process that can be used as fertiliser, in land rehabilitation or as a construction material.

Around 30% of the world's biosolids are stockpiled or sent to landfill, using up valuable land and potentially emitting greenhouse gases, creating an environmental challenge.

Now a team at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has demonstrated that fired-clay bricks incorporating biosolids could be a sustainable solution for both the wastewater treatment and brickmaking industries.

Published this month in the journal Buildings, the research showed how making biosolids bricks only required around half the energy of conventional bricks.

As well as being cheaper to produce, the biosolids bricks also had a lower thermal conductivity, transferring less heat to potentially give buildings higher environmental performance.

The United States produces about 7.1 million tonnes of biosolids a year, while the EU produces over 9 million tonnes. In Australia, 327,000 tonnes of biosolids are produced annually.

The study found there was a significant opportunity to create a new beneficial reuse market - bricks.

About 5 million tonnes of the biosolids produced in Australia, New Zealand, the EU, US and Canada currently go to landfill or stockpiles each year. Using a minimum 15% biosolids content in 15% of bricks produced could use up this 5 million tonnes.

Lead investigator Associate Professor Abbas Mohajerani said the research sought to tackle two environmental issues - the stockpiles of biosolids and the excavation of soil required for brick production.

"More than 3 billion cubic metres of clay soil is dug up each year for the global brickmaking industry, to produce about 1.5 trillion bricks," Mohajerani, a civil engineer in RMIT's School of Engineering, said.

"Using biosolids in bricks could be the solution to these big environmental challenges.

"It's a practical and sustainable proposal for recycling the biosolids currently stockpiled or going to landfill around the globe."

The research examined the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of fired-clay bricks incorporating different proportions of biosolids, from 10 to 25%.

The biosolid-enhanced bricks passed compressive strength tests and analysis demonstrated heavy metals are largely trapped within the brick. Biosolids can have significantly different chemical characteristics, so the researchers recommend further testing before large-scale production.

The biosolids bricks are more porous than standard bricks, giving them lower thermal conductivity.

The research also showed brick firing energy demand was cut by up to 48.6% for bricks incorporating 25% biosolids. This is due to the organic content of the biosolids and could considerably reduce the carbon footprint of brick manufacturing companies.

The results of a comparative Life Cycle Assessment and an emissions study conducted as part of the research confirmed biosolids bricks offered a sustainable alternative approach to addressing the environmental impacts of biosolids management and brick manufacturing.

Source......

Municipalities have a lot to gain from small scale, localised power generation in future – but any power generation plans must be approached in a long-term strategic manner involving multiple departments.

Speaking ahead of Power-Gen & DistribuTech Africa 2018, power sector experts said small-scale, distributed power generation plants could offer significant benefits to local municipalities.

“In many cases, local municipalities can benefit from small scale power production without even having to invest in such plants themselves – they simply need to create an environment that is conducive for private sector investment,” says DeVilliers Botha, chief operating officer at Solareff.

He cites examples of private sector players investing in solar plants to support the growth of their businesses, with long term benefits for the surrounding communities.

“In one case in Gauteng, a small greengrocer was to be replaced by a massive warehouse, but the city did not have the grid capacity to support this large new facility. The organisation invested in its own solar plant, supported by lithium-ion battery storage, and is now essentially self-sufficient.

“The benefits to the municipality are a significantly improved property, higher rates and taxes revenues, and more employment for the local community. It also becomes possible for a facility with its own small-scale generation to sell power back into the grid over weekends, possibly at a lower cost than the municipality usually pays for its power.”

Botha notes that, before the advent of Eskom in 1926, municipalities in South Africa generated their own power. He foresees a time when municipalities will consider reviving this model to some degree.

“Initially, many local authorities raise risk and revenue loss issues when distributed generation comes under discussion, but once they factor in their mandate to procure services at the best cost, ensure reliable power supply, uplift their communities and conserve their local environment, they typically start seeing the potential benefits of integrating solar and other renewables into their energy mix,” he says.

Botha will speak at Power-Gen & DistribuTech Africa 2018 on improved storage technologies and their contribution to delivering on the full potential of renewable energy. He will elaborate on the technologies, total costs and municipal models for independent renewable power generation.

Many municipalities are sitting on a potential gold mine, with untapped opportunities to exploit biomass power generation, says Marko Nokkala, senior sales manager: South Africa at Valmet.

However, there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to decentralised municipal power, and myriad factors must be considered when embarking on a local power generation project, he says.

“In the case of waste to energy, for example, municipalities must take a long-term view in their planning, and be able to give the assurance that the waste disposal contractors will be aligned with the needs of the power plant throughout its lifetime,” Nokkala says.

“In addition, the issue of transport is a crucial one – in a massive urban sprawl such as Lagos, Nigeria, the logistics of transporting the waste to the plant reliably and cost-effectively could become a challenge.”

Nokkala believes that biomass presents significant potential for municipalities that are equipped with the necessary infrastructure, but have a limited number of residents. “In cities of one to three million people, in which waste streams are manageable and there is sufficient demand, there are huge opportunities for investment in biomass-based energy generation.

Nokkala will present a paper at Power-Gen & DistribuTech Africa 2018 on the challenges for expansion of biomass-based energy generation in sub-Saharan Africa.

On a smaller scale, community-based energy projects can also deliver multiple benefits, says Kelly Cure, head of strategic initiatives at Montigny Investments.

Cure cites a Sustainable ESwatini forestry biomass project as an example of a small scale independent project that deliver a number of benefits.

“This programme converts the alien wattle jungle into smallholder plantations and uses the jungle biomass to feed into the greater biomass value chain; so enabling power generation, creating income for the community and addressing an environmental problem at the same time – so everybody wins,” she says.

However, regulatory hurdles can hinder the success of such projects, she notes. “To truly attract investment into renewables, you need the right regulatory and business environment.”

Cure will address Power-Gen & DistribuTech Africa 2018 on optimising the biomass value chain to unlock renewable energy potential.

The Power-Gen & DistribuTech Africa 2018 conference and exhibition will be staged from 17-19 July 2018 at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Source.......

The UK yesterday hit a milestone of running without coal power for three days in a row – the longest coal-free period in the country since the 1880s.

It started on Saturday morning and ended on Tuesday, according to National Grid, hitting a total of 72 hours and 10 minutes.

Without coal on the grid, 33 per cent of the UK’s electricity came from gas, 20 per cent from windpower and 24 per cent from nuclear.

Then there was 8 per cent from imports from France and The Netherlands, 7 per cent from solar, 6 per cent from biomass, 1 per cent from hydropower and 1 per cent from pumped storage.

Coal accounted for less than 7 per cent of Britain’s energy mix last year and the government is to phase-out the fossil fuel completely by 2025.

Hannah Martin, Head of Energy at Greenpeace UK, said in response to the coal-free days: “As coal power is phased out to prevent environmental disaster, and nuclear power phases itself out through economic disaster, the government would be wise to support the cleanest and cheapest energy sources, onshore wind and solar.”

"Offshore wind has proven to be popular and able to provide affordable clean energy, as well as skilled jobs and fair bills. As we have more and more days without coal, we need to make sure it is replaced with the renewable technologies of the future."

UK power generator Drax may be able to end its coal-fired power operations ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline.

The company’s CEO believes Drax’s biomass and gas-fired power operations, coupled with battery storage, are capable of replacing any coal closures ahead of time.

“We’re exploring options for repowering our remaining coal units to use sustainable biomass and gas which we believe could help us to become coal free even earlier than the 2025 deadline,” Drax chief executive Will Gardiner said. 

Drax has converted three of its six power plant units to burn wood pellets and plans to convert a fourth unit to biomass later this year. Drax said it could replace the remaining two units with gas plants and up to 200 MW of battery storage. 

You can track the live mix of renewables, fossil fuels or imports used in Britain's energy mix through the University of Durham's website at www.durham.ac.uk/dei/dashboard

Source....

A consortium comprising engineering consultant ELB Engineering Services, environment equipment manufacturer KC Cottrell and the ELB Educational Trust, has been appointed as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for Ngodwana Energy’s 25 MW biomass project, in Mpumalanga.

Ngodwana Energy was, in April 2015, selected as a preferred bidder in round four of government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

It is one of 27 REIPPPP projects for which power purchase agreements were signed on Wednesday, after a long delay in the signing of such agreements by power utility Eskom.

The project will take 27 months to build and commission.

The consortium will erect a 25 MW biomass power plant alongside the Sappi Ngodwana mill. The plant will use waste material from the surrounding plantations to generate power.

The power plant burns the biomass in a boiler to generate steam and drive a turbine to generate electricity, while a high-efficiency air pollution control system will be used on the boiler flue gas to ensure the emissions are well below the new South African requirements.

Read more.....

The UK’s Energy Minister Richard Harrington has confirmed that £557m (€621 million) will be made available for less established renewable electricity technologies for future Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions, starting with the next auction in 2019.

The news forms part of the government’s ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ to drive economic growth and clean up the energy system.

Since 1990 the UK’s emissions are down by more than a third while the economy has grown by two-thirds. Low-carbon generation provided more than half (52%) our electricity this summer, according to National Grid, while PwC analysis shows the UK decarbonising faster than any other G20 nation.

The Clean Growth Strategy, which will be published this week, will build on this success and ensure Britain remains a global leader in the move towards a low-carbon economy. It will ensure the whole country can benefit from new technologies, jobs and businesses that are good for consumers, the environment and the economy.

As part of the strategy, developers will compete for up to £557 million of funding in Contracts for Difference auctions which drive down energy costs for consumers and increase business confidence. The latest auction saw the cost of new offshore wind fall by 50% compared to the first auction held in 2015 and resulted in over 3GW of new generation which could power 3.6 million homes.

Technologies such as offshore wind, energy from waste, marine and biomass CHP will be focused on. However, the government will not be investing in biomass conversion.

Response
Energy Minister Richard Harrington said: “The government’s Clean Growth Strategy will set out how the whole of the UK can benefit from the global move to a low-carbon economy.

“We’ve shown beyond doubt that renewable energy projects are an effective way to cut our emissions, while creating thousands of good jobs and attracting billions of pounds worth of investment.”

Commenting on the report, James Court, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Renewable Energy Association said: “The last auction showed what government support and consistency can do for an industry, with offshore wind showing incredible cost reductions.

“Yet we still find ourselves in a situation where the government will support new nuclear, new gas, new diesel, yet won’t support the most cost effective technologies such as solar, onshore wind and biomass, which are still blocked to market.

“The energy market is changing rapidly, with cheaper renewables, a more decentralised grid, smart meters and battery storage driving this revolution. Yet the UK will be left behind globally if the government don’t start supporting the industry and we will be left with a higher cost, higher carbon and out of date system that we will all end up paying for.”

 This story was written by Liz Gyekye, editor of Bioenergy Insight. 

Ensight’s energy-saving solutions can lead to a massive reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and running costs.

IN a bid to assist industry in responsibly addressing the challenges of climate change while STILL maintaining their market edge, Ensight Energy Solutions on Tuesday held a business briefing with Richards Bay’s industry stakeholders.

Working directly with industry, as partners instead of consultants, Ensight has implemented and sustained numerous energy cost-saving projects around South Africa.

‘Current energy systems are run on certain assumptions that are never questioned, but simply by asking the right questions, companies can, and have already, introduced massive energy savings – and therefore cost savings,’ said Francis Barram, Ensight Energy Solutions CEO.

‘But the success of identifying and implementing such strategies comes from an independent party whose only interest is reducing energy consumption.’

Ensight’s existing clients include Anglo Platinum, which enjoys 30% energy and R110-million cost savings.

Barram said energy-reducing strategies already achieved in the mining sector require no capital investment from a company.

Another energy-saving application is that of CNG (compressed natural gas) to run vehicles instead of diesel.

‘High density CNG leads to a 27% reduction in greenhouse gases and a 20% cost reduction.

‘For example, a truck can get from Richards Bay to Pietermaritzburg and back on only one tank of CNG,’ said Barram.

He said heavy vehicles used in the mining sector in Australia have been converted to CNG, with astounding energy and cost savings results.

‘Running industrial trucks on 100% natural gas is a possibility.’

Renewable energy-derived methane was also discussed, with the biomass-to-methane concept a good one for job creation and productivity for society.

Barram said bamboo from a 1 200ha farm can produce 15MW, as well as the creation of jobs in every step of the process, from farming to biomass processing.

‘We need to start producing and using energy from renewable resources rather than from our current, finite supply,’ concluded Barram.

Source......

Willem van der Merwe of Africa Biomass Company.

“Through the establishment of Africa Biomass Company (ABC) – which specialises in land clearing, wood chipping, and wood recycling – Willem van der Merwe has not only created a successful business by clearing landowners unwanted trees, he has also shaped a new industry in South Africa by introducing the novel concept of wood recycling", said Spokesperson for the competition, Christo Botes.

Read more.....

Reliance, the leading organic compost provider in the Western Cape, is excited to have received the green light for the R250 million Waste to Energy project at Corona Farm in the Paarl region. 

All appeals against the project have been dismissed by authorities, giving the final go-ahead to the first of its kind project. Not only will this project generate energy from organic waste, but it will directly and indirectly create over 1000 jobs, save landfill space and carbon emissions, as well as see depleted agricultural soils being rebuilt to high humus soils. The application has taken over 3 years and millions in investments to get to this stage, the final hurdle was to get the rezoning finalised. 

Further to the Biogas plant, Corona Farm will be divided into separate commercial units. One unit for the Waste to Energy project and the rest of the units to new sustainable organic farms with the focus on ownership for young entrepreneurs, primarily from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Five of these units have already been developed with plantings of table- and wine grapes, as well as citrus. An additional two units are in the process of being planted.

Reliance has already started their in-house training process consisting of new entrepreneurs through an intern program. Furthermore Reliance has combined efforts with Skills Fusion and the Department of Agriculture in training new agriculture students over the next 12 months.

The company’s mission is to Grow Greener Generations, and these new initiatives can be seen as a reflection of the company ethos. Reliance starts investing at Primary school level, carrying forward the message that every child/individual can dream and make that dream a reality if they are committed to making South Africa a better place for generations to come.

Reliance has expanded operations into the Southern and Eastern Cape, with the opening of its new compost facility at Humansdorp recently. 

​This video is made available as part of the biofuels education projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The animation illustrate the process of fast pyrolysis which takes the bio-oil as example of the final product. It includes pretreatment, pyrolysis reaction, char collection, quench system, and bio-oil storage.