Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Dr Alan Tunnacliffe and PhD student Jens Lapinski at the Institute of Biotechnology, working with Anglian Water Services Ltd, have found a way to decrease the amount of sludge produced in wastewater treatment systems.

Anglian Water manages sludge in two ways. The majority is treated and sold for use on agricultural land as a soil improver. This treated sludge is known as biosolids.

Anglian Water provides up to 150,000 tonnes of biosolids every year for the agricultural industry. Any sludge which cannot be recycled to agriculture is put into landfill.

The process developed by Messrs Tunnacliffe and Lapinski uses micro-organisms that naturally occur in the sludge.

These tiny creatures actually eat the sludge, converting it into carbon dioxide and water.

The team give nature a push by breaking down the sludge particles to a more digestible size, and by increasing the number of sludge-eating organisms present in the sewage treatment plant.

Anglian Water sponsored Lapinski’s studentship, which led to the invention of the new treatment process.

Under the terms of the studentship Anglian Water has taken a commercial licence to use the invention.

Anglian Water also directly sponsors Dr Tunnacliffe’s lectureship through a Pembroke College Fellowship.

Dr Tunnacliffe said: “Currently we are able to reduce sludge yield by around 15 per cent, and hope to improve this to 50 per cent.

“Reducing the amount of sludge to be managed will not only bring down costs but will recycle much of the sludge into natural substances.”

Less sludge means less transport and energy used, all of which contribute to maintaining and improving the quality of the environment.