The cost and market prospects of sludge treatment

Date: Sep. 11, 2021

Data shows that the scale of treatment of China’s urban sewage treatment plants has ranked first in the world. According to statistics, my country’s sludge production has exceeded 60 million tons in 2019 (calculated with a moisture content of 80%). It is estimated that my country’s annual sludge output will exceed 90 million tons in 2025, and the sludge treatment market may exceed 100 billion.

After years of exploration, my country’s sludge treatment and disposal industry has mainly formed four mainstream technical routes for stabilization and safe disposal: “anaerobic digestion + land use”, “aerobic fermentation + land use”, “dry incineration + ash residue Landfill or use of building materials” and “deep dehydration + emergency landfill” have effectively supported the solution of the problem of sludge treatment and disposal in my country. With the upgrading and transformation of sewage treatment plants, sludge disposal has extended the path of coupled waste incineration, cement kiln co-processing, and participation in soil remediation, and the technical process has broken through the bottleneck.

According to surveys, at the current level, the cost of sludge drying and incineration below 300 yuan/ton is basically impossible to complete the entire process of commercial operation in developed areas. The cost of co-processing tends to be slightly lower. For example, in the case of a waste incineration plant, the total cost including profits is generally around 400 yuan/ton.

In terms of geographical distribution, sludge incineration and drying are the most widely used sludge treatment technologies in East China; in Northeast, East China and Central China, sludge aerobic composting technologies are used; in addition, anaerobic digestion facilities are located in East and North China. And the Central China area is also extensively constructed.

The survey data shows that the main investment and operating costs of domestic sludge treatment and disposal projects are as follows:

The investment cost of simple anaerobic digestion is about RMB 200,000-400,000/(ton/day). The cost is saved because it does not require blast aeration. The operating cost of simple anaerobic digestion is approximately RMB 60-120/ton (water content 80%). %, excluding concentration and dehydration), and the operating cost of aerobic fermentation is 120-160 yuan/ton.

The investment cost of sludge drying and incineration is 500,000-1 million/ton, and the operating cost is 270-550 yuan/ton;

The investment cost for the utilization of sludge building materials is 300,000-500,000/ton, and the operating cost is 50-200 yuan/ton.