Guangzhou Heidelberg Yuexiu Cement Co Ltd (China), is set to handle 60 percent of the city’s sewage sludge and will be able to handle 600 tons of the sludge every day, reports the China Daily.
Guangzhou produces about 950 tons of sludge a day at present. The figure is expected to reach 2,425 tons next year and 3,120 tons in 2020.
The firm, a joint venture between Hong Kong-based Yuexiu Group and the global leader, Heidelberg Cement in Germany, will treat the sludge, turning it into raw materials and alternative fuels for cement manufacturing in the process, with no extra emission or ash.
"In producing cement kilns sewage sludge can be recycled and become the fuel," said Zhang Zhaoxing, general manager of Yuexiu Group, adding that the project well integrates the cement industry with environmental protection industry.
The project, with an initial investment of over 70 million yuan ($10.2 million), is a key R&D project of the technology and equipment for industrial and municipal waste treatment of Guangzhou as well as a critical Sino-German technological cooperation project in industrial and environmental protection.
