Cambi turns waste into valuable resources with thermal hydrolysis

Rapid urbanisation generates an increasing amount of wastewater, sewage sludge and biowaste. Untreated waste represents a risk for the environment and human health.

To address this growing risk, water and waste processing utilities are seeking sustainable and cost-effective solutions to treat sludge and biowaste. Utilities are also looking for new ways to harvest as many resources as possible from waste.

Cambi’s Thermal Hydrolysis Process (CambiTHP®) forms the core of the company’s solutions for managing sludge and biowaste and converting them into valuable resources. For utilities, the solutions can improve the bottom line while contributing to the circular economy.

The pillar of sustainable sludge management is anaerobic digestion, a process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material. Thermal hydrolysis is applied before or after anaerobic digestion to sterilise the sludge and make it more biodegradable. It exposes the sewage sludge or other types of wet organic waste to high temperature and pressure.

The high-quality CambiTHP process and equipment give reliable operations and long asset lifetime. Cambi designs, tests and manufactures key components of all plants in-house, while carefully selecting all equipment providers for its installations. The company is collaborating with leading sludge line solution providers to develop an optimal thermal hydrolysis sludge line.

Integrating thermal hydrolysis in a wastewater or waste processing plant with anaerobic digestion has numerous benefits. Use of thermal hydrolysis can yield up to 50 per cent more biogas compared to conventional digestion. Some of the additional biogas is used for producing the steam needed for thermal hydrolysis, and there often is a surplus available to power additional processes.

Moreover, thermal hydrolysis transforms sludge into an easily manageable product. The final biosolids are low odour, pathogen-free and can be used as organic fertiliser on land.

Thermal hydrolysis also increases and optimises digester throughput, so that utilities can save capital investment in the construction of anaerobic digesters.

Cambi has successfully commissioned more than 60 projects worldwide. The company primarily serves megacities, but also offers solutions for smaller cities. Ongoing rapid urbanisation and strict regulations for sludge management is driving Cambi to focus on markets such as Australia, China and the US.

About 40 per cent of all sludge produced in the UK is processed through Cambi’s plants installed in the country, making the UK one of Cambi’s most successful markets.

Cambi is headquartered in Norway, with offices in China, the UK and the US, among other countries, and has operations throughout the world.