I.Metshin on the first sludge treatment line in Russia: “For Kazan, this is a utility and ecological revolution”

Kazan Municipal Enterprise “Vodokanal” has started supplying biofuels produced from the thermomechanical treatment of sludge to cement plants in Russia. Seventy tons of biofuels are produced daily on the first line in Russia from 450 thousand cubic meters of sewage with a design capacity of 100 tons. This allowed the capital of Tatarstan to abandon the use of sludge pits, which are an environmental problem. Today, the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin visited the site together with representatives of the city and republican media.

“The first line of thermomechanical treatment of sludge in Russia is a utility and ecological revolution for Kazan,”- I.Metshin noted. Previously, according to him, 250 tons of sediment daily have been transferred to the sludge pits, the area of which has reached 110 hectares in 50 years. “The problem that we have been observing for many years was resolved. Now we receive 70 tons of biofuel every day, which are actively used by the Russian cement plants”, - the Mayor said.

The construction of the line worth 1.7 billion rubles began in December 2018 at the own expense of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Vodokanal” and was completed in 2021. In June 2022, the facility received the Solid Biofuel certificate, which allowed the export of the processed product to cement plants in Russia.

Andrey Egorov, director of Vodokanal, told journalists and the Mayor about the process of obtaining biofuels. “The sludge, which is obtained after wastewater treatment, is dehydrated in centrifuges to a humidity of 75%, after which it enters the cylinder driers with a 500 degrees temperature. The dried sediment takes the form of granules with a size of 3-8 mm and a humidity of 10%, after which it enters the silos for intermediate storage as a final product”, - he explained.

What makes the line unique is that the sludge treatment process is closed. “There is no gas blowout into the atmosphere, there is no burning process, so this facility is completely eco-friendly”, - A.Egorov stressed. A Russian company developed the project. “The components are 70% domestic, 30% foreign, these are engineering and electronic systems. Now their analogues are being selected”, - said the director of Vodokanal.

Up to seven KAMAZ trucks are filled with the final product every day. Andrey Egorov said that biofuels are in demand by factories. Cement plants use the product as an alternative fuel by adding pellets to the gas, which reduces the cost of cement production.

The processed product can also be used as an additive to black soil for land reclamation and in road construction. “Now, together with the research center, we are conducting experiments on the use of pellets in other areas. The certification process can take up to eighteen months”, - A.Egorov said.

For reference, the sludge pits in Kazan are located in the water protection zone near the Kuibyshev water reservoir and represent a system of sludge lagoons fenced with dams and combined into cascades. For 50 years of operation of treatment facilities, the territory of the sludge pits has exceeded the limit of its capabilities. Now the sludge pits have been transferred to reclamation under the federal project “Improvement of the Volga” part of the “Ecology” national project. It is planned to complete the reclamation by 2024.