The city of Corona, Calif., has selected USFilter technology for its new biosolids recycling program. USFilter's triple pass Convective Thermal Dryer (CTD) system will allow the city to produce Class A biosolids in the form of dustless 1-4 mm pellets. The city plans to look into to marketing the pellets as a beneficial fertilizer or soil amendment to local nurseries, farmers, fertilizer manufacturers and residents. The program is scheduled to begin testing in January 2004 and is expected to be at full commercial production by May 2004.
"Our primary motivations for the new program are cost savings and local control," said Don Ries, associate engineer for the city of Corona. "The direct drying system will significantly reduce waste hauling and disposal costs."
Along with the cogeneration power plant the city is building, the CTD? system will be a significant part of the city's overall municipal waste management and recycling plan. The direct drying system will produce Class A biosolids at 95 percent solids, which allows the city greater options for reuse of the material.
The city of Corona‚s current waste product is a classless sludge at 18 percent solids that must be hauled out of Riverside County for disposal.
"We've been using approximately 20 trucks a week to haul wet sludge," says Ries. "After the dryer is in place, the dried product can be land filled locally or sold as fuel or compost. We'll be down to one truck a day."
"The city of Corona's new biosolids reuse program is part of a growing environmental trend toward higher quality in biosolids. By recycling wastewater solids and marketing the beneficial soil amendment, the city is helping to preserve valuable space in landfills and encouraging the recycling of nutrient-rich wastewater solids, while offsetting the treatment costs," says Jeff Berk, vice president municipal sales for USFilter's Dewatering Systems business.
Source: USFilter
