Construction of new sludge cake transfer facility in Garmerwolde gets off to a festive start
On Friday, May 24, construction began on a renovated sludge cake transfer station at the sewage treatment plant (STP) in Garmerwolde. The construction of a new sludge cake transfer facility stems from a desire for renewal. On the one hand, the water board is striving for innovation, energy savings, and more efficient transport of sludge to partners who take care of the final processing of the sludge. On the other hand, these innovations result in less traffic, which is positive for all residents living near the Garmerwolde WWTP.
Official launch
The official starting signal was given by Herman Beerda, executive director of the Noorderzijlvest Water Authority.
During short speeches by Julia Finkielsztajn, director of the Noorderzijlvest Water Authority, Herman Beerda, and Jur Lommerts, director at Jansen en Heuning, many words of praise were spoken.
In her speech, Director Finkielsztajn reflected on the partners with whom the water board is collaborating. There are many developments and innovations underway at Garmerwolde. Jansen en Heuning is proud to be the main contractor building the new sludge cake transfer station, said Lommerts. "It is a sludge cake transfer facility that the Noorderzijlvest water board will be able to use for more than half a century," said Lommerts. Rwzi Garmerwolde is the central processing location for the sewage sludge of the Noorderzijlvest and Hunze&Aa's water boards.
Herman Beerda is proud of all the developments that are taking place. Years ago, the sludge that remained was spread on the land as fertilizer. This has not been desirable for years. Innovation in the field of sludge is therefore important. In addition, the recovery of phosphate is necessary. The availability of phosphate cannot be taken for granted, and the recovery of phosphate is therefore very important for now and for future generations. After all the wonderful and inspiring words, the group left for the construction site. Herman Beerda climbed into the crane to place the first foundation pile.
Energy efficient, space saving, and safer
The new sludge cake transfer system reduces energy consumption by approximately 30 percent compared to the current installation. In addition, the loading of sludge into trucks will be further optimized. The trucks are placed on a weighbridge, allowing them to be loaded with great precision. This will reduce the number of vehicles on the road, which is better for all local residents. Because the construction will mainly involve building upwards, a lot of space will be saved on the site of the wastewater treatment plant in Garmerwolde. The new transfer system is a so-called closed transport system. This means that employees will have less contact with the sludge cake. This makes the new working environment safer for staff.
A northern collaboration
In recent years, the Hunze en Aa’s Water Authority, the Drentse en Overijsselse Delta Water Authority, and the Noorderzijlvest Water Authority have sought to collaborate on the processing capacity of sewage sludge. In 2019, a decision was made to find the most sustainable solution possible for final sludge processing. This led to a contract with SNON (Slibverwerking Noord Oost Nederland), a partnership between GMB BioEnergie Zutphen and Energy from Waste Delfzijl (EEW). EEW processes the sludge from the water authorities in a mono-incineration plant. The heat released in this process is used to produce steam for supply to companies in and around Delfzijl. In short, energy recovery from sewage sludge. In time, the raw material phosphate will also be recovered from the ash residues of the incineration.
