With the passing of the Sewage Sludge and Fertilizer Ordinance in 2017, municipalities in the northern states in particular are faced with the task of fundamentally redesigning their existing sewage sludge recycling strategies - investment decisions in the millions are pending. The SATELLITE research project focuses its investigations on the relevant process steps upstream and downstream of the actual incineration and recovery process at the supplying sewage treatment plants (WWTPs) and on the coordination of operation and plant technology in the municipal network.
SATELLITE thus forms an inter-municipal association consisting of regional centers (WWTPs > 50,000 p.e.), their satellites (WWTPs < 50,000 p.e.), agricultural nutrient sources (biogas plants, animal husbandry/manure producers), and a central nutrient recycling center and acts as a crystallization point in southern Lower Saxony for long-term and strategically secured investment planning for the implementation of sustainable regional nutrient recycling. The waste management association (KNRN) created for this purpose makes it possible to coordinate investment decisions for individual plants, provide low-threshold access to plant technology and create scope for operators. The operation coordinated via the municipal association defines as management objectives the provision of the optimum sewage sludge quality (calorific value, P-content) for the central recycling center at the optimum time (uniform utilization) with the lowest environmental impact (transport), while at the same time providing a positive balance for the supplying regional centers. This is achieved through adapted process selection, regional recyclables return, and support in management.
The kick-off on July 27, 2020, in Hanover, marked the start of the five-year research project. Under the coordination of the Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Waste Management at Leibniz University Hannover, the network consists of 4 regional centers and satellites, a communal society, the Nds. Chamber of Agriculture, 3 SMEs, 2 research institutions, and 3 associated partners.
The SATELLITE project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the funding program "Research for Sustainable Development (FONA3)" with the thematic focus "Regional Phosphorus Recycling" (RePhoR). The total volume of the project amounts to around €3.6 million.
Further information on the project and the BMBF funding measure RePhoR can be found under the following links:
SATELLITE project webpage: https://www.bmbf-rephor.de/verbundprojekte/satellite/
Homepage RePhoR: https://www.bmbf-rephor.de/
The public-access kick-off event of the funding measure as well as the presentation of the different collaborative projects will take place online on November 3, 2020, from 1-5 pm (program). To register for the live stream free of charge, click here.
