Utility warms to new treatment technology

摘要

The Gold Coast Water's (GCW) Coombabah Waste Water Treatment Plant Stage 5 Upgrade was announced the winner of the 2013 EA Queensland Division Engineering Excellence Award for research, development and innovation. The installation of anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is believed to be an Australian first. It was previously thought that WAS-only anaerobic digestion was neither technically nor economically viable, and most wastewater treatment plants prefer aerobic digestion. The plant achieves its anaerobic digestion without external hydrolysis, the process needed to ensure the presence of sufficient methane gas for self-sufficiency. The advances in this technology include reduced operating costs, reduced heavy vehicle movements, environmentally sustainable energy production, increased nutrient recovery and improved biosolids reuse potential.