Aussie first takes shape

City Infrastructure Chair Councillor Teresa Lane next to the dryer unit at Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant.
City Infrastructure Chair Councillor Teresa Lane next to the dryer unit at Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant.

An epic journey and a tricky installation operation has delivered another piece of the City of Logan’s ground-breaking Biosolids Gasification Project.

An epic journey and a tricky installation operation has delivered another piece of the City of Logan’s ground-breaking Biosolids Gasification Project.

Two sewage sludge dryers, weighing 34 tonnes each, have been installed at Australia’s first biosolids gasification facility being built at the Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant (LWWTP).

The dryers, made in Germany by Dutch company ELIQUO, arrived at the Port of Brisbane last month and have been craned into place at LWWTP.

The industrial-strength dryers are an integral component of the gasifier that will turn human waste into a marketable biochar suitable for a variety of uses.

City of Logan Mayor Darren Power said the latest development brings Council closer to its goal of carbon neutrality by the end of 2022.

“This is a pioneering project that has captured global attention for its innovative approach to reducing carbon emissions,” Mayor Darren Power said.

“Each milestone brings us closer to completion of this ambitious project and cements Council’s reputation as a local government leader in combating climate change.”

City Infrastructure Chair Councillor Teresa Lane said it is an exciting time for the team at Logan Water.

“The preparation and planning that has gone into the delivery and installation of the dryers has been months in the making,” Cr Lane said.

“It was a truly international project that had to overcome obstacles such as distance and time zones as well as the impacts of a global pandemic.

“With this hurdle cleared, Council, Logan Water and our delivery partners can now assemble this marvel of modern engineering.”

Once the gasifier is online, it will cut Council’s carbon dioxide output by 4800 tonnes annually and prevent organic pollutants from entering the soil.

Last year Council, along with project partners Pyrocal and Downer, successfully trialled a process of thermally treating sewage sludge (biosolids) to produce biogas.

The biogas is then used as a renewable energy source as heat to dry the remaining biosolids, turning it into a ‘biochar’, suitable for agricultural purposes.

The Loganholme Gasification Project is expected to come online by mid-2022.

The $17m project was made possible by a $6 million grant from the Australian Government’s renewable energy agency ARENA.

The gasifier will be partly powered by LWWTP’s 1MW solar array that recently came online.

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