Calendar of Events - Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association

The IWT committee would like to welcome you to our first virtual seminar of the year, focused on Sludge Intensification and Destruction. Classic anaerobic digestion has long been considered the standard for treating solids waste, but as new regulatory, environmental, and fiscal constrains build, that paradigm is being questioned in favor of novel approaches. Rising focus on process efficiency and land application – especially when it comes to emerging contaminants like PFAS – will soon force utilities to consider how they might improve their digestion processes, or potentially eliminate them altogether. In this virtual seminar, we will discuss three technologies that apply well known mechanical equipment and physical concepts in unconventional ways. One application intensifies digester operation by decoupling SRT from HRT by modifying digester pressure, potentially lowering future capital and operating costs. Two other technologies focus on potentially supplanting digestion by processing the feed sludge directly through thermal breakdown and energy recovery. The result is a variety of byproducts that could help fuel a facility’s entry into the Green Economy. An open discussion will follow.