Cambi AS (Norway) has been awarded a contract for the largest Cambi Thermal Hydolysis plant ever built, as part of a £75 million project to enhance sludge treatment at Davyhulme, Manchester.
The Davyhulme sludge centre contract with principal contractor Black & Veatch(B&V) consists of a 20-reactor Cambi Thermal Hydrolysis plant consisting of 4 process trains. The Cambi process will more than double digester loading and biogas production. It will also produce a high standard bio-fertilizer, avoid building an additional sludge incineration plant, and reduce carbon footprint by 32,000 tons CO2e/year.

Influencial environmental and renewable impact

One of the UK’s largest wastewater treatment works (WwTW) is set to become a valuable source of renewable energy. The benefits of a major upgrade at Davyhulme WwTW in Manchester include the generation of up to 10 megawatts of electricity, 24 hours per day, from biogas and the potential to provide a sustainable source of soil improver. Design and construction of the upgraded treatment facility will be undertaken by Black & Veatch as Principal Contractor under United Utilities’ Sludge Balanced Asset Programme with Cambi as main subcontractor for the digestion upgrade. Improvements will more than double the existing sludge treatment capacity and process biosolids to such a high standard that they have the potential to be reused as a grassland fertiliser. The project will also produce biogas sufficient to generate electricity for running the new treatment process and for feeding into the National Grid.

Sludge treatment is a 24-hour process, so there is a continuous supply of biogas. It is a very valuable resource and it is completely renewable. By harnessing this energy we can reduce our fuel bills and reduce our carbon footprint -says Pete Robinson, programme manager United Utilities
According to Dr Bill Barber, United Utilities’ Biosolids and Sustainability Technical Specialist, the project will reduce carbon footprint by about 32,000 tonnes of CO2e per year compared to the original incinerator project envisaged.