Seoul will develop technology for the generation of gas fuel from sewage sludge generated in a water recycling plant. The gasified sludge can be used to produce green hydrogen, a type of hydrogen fuel that is produced without the usage of fossil fuels.
Each day, a water recycling center in southern Seoul may generate approximately 900 tons of sludge. Although the sludge was collected, dried, and converted into blocks of solid fuel for power generation, this type of fuel produces greenhouse gases and is inefficient due to the high moisture content of the fuel blocks.
The Seoul Water Recycling Corporation collaborated with Plagen, a business specializing in pyrolysis and renewable fuel production technology, to create a process for gasifying sludge into renewable fuel for green hydrogen generation. By June 2023, the center’s daily sludge production capacity will grow from 495 to 900 tons. Pyrolysis is a chemical process that converts plastics to composite gas fuels by the use of great heat and pressure.
“By making the Seoul Water Recycling Center the primary base for South Korea’s renewable energy production, we will contribute to South Korea’s zero-carbon policy and foster an eco-friendly image that will help citizens view sewage sludge positively,” Park Sang-don, the recycling center’s head, said in a statement on April 12.
Plagen can gasify recovered fuel by the use of specialized equipment. From regenerated gas fuel, hydrogen sulfate and hydrochloride are eliminated. The company’s recycled fuel generation equipment is capable of producing recycled fuel from food waste. When food waste is recycled, ammonia can be recovered.
