alternatives(iii)-SewageSludgeVictims.doc

ALTERNATIVES (III) TO LAND APPLICATION OF SEWAGE SLUDGE “BIOSOLIDS” Jan. to August, 2009 Web exclusive posted Feb. 11, 2009The U.S. Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 onFeb. 10 by a vote of 64 to 37. Fifty-eight Democrats and three Republicansvoted in favor of the bill, while 37 Republicans voted against it. The U.S.House of Representatives passed their version of the legislation on Jan. 28.Like the House version of the package, the Senate version extended theproduction tax credit for biomass energy until 2013. However, there aredifferences as well. The Senate bill provided less total funding for energyprojects, but allocated slightly more funding to renewable energy loans andrenewable energy research than the House legislation. The Senate bill,however, provided significantly less funding in the areas of energyefficiency and electrical grid development. Unlike the House bill, theSenate version also provided funding for fossil fuel research. ********************************************************* /wow/2009/03/07/why-gasification-of-sewage-sludge-is-better-than-spreading-it-on-land/ ? ? Why Gasification of Sewage Sludge is Better Than Spreading it on Land Gasification of sewage sludge is becoming a very popular method for disposing of the organic sludges from sewage works, or to give them a more genteel name wastewater treatment plants. It is currently a large market area for gasification technology. So, how did this come about and what are the particular merits of gasification when sludge disposal is considered. In this article we will explain this. First let/’s be clear what sewage sludge is. Sewage sludge is the bulk of the residual material removed during the wastewater treatment process. Most wastewater plants have dewatering facilities which compress and squeeze the water out of the collected sludge from the treatment process. In these cases the sewage sludge which goes into a gasification plant is the solid, s