Application of global sludge incineration

Sludge incineration originated in the United States. At present, many countries around the world are using incineration to dispose of sludge. According to reports, the sludge incineration disposal rate in the United States is about 20-30%, that in Japan is about 70%, that in Switzerland is about 100%, that in China and Hongkong is 100%, and that in Denmark is 100%. The average sludge incineration rate in EU has increased from 27% in 2010 to 41.5% in 2015.

According to literature reports, in 2017, the proportion of incineration disposal in sludge disposal in some EU countries is as follows:

Hungarian sludge incineration disposal rate is about 30%

Turkey's sludge incineration disposal rate is about 30%

Germany's sludge incineration disposal rate is about 65%

Austrian sludge incineration disposal rate is about 50%

Belgian sludge incineration disposal rate is about 80%

(Source：Development, current state and future trends of sludge management in China: Based on exploratory data and CO2-equivaient emissions analysis)

Many foreign sludge incineration plants are built in sewage treatment plants nearby, so some incineration plants are close to public areas, even to residential areas or commercial areas. In the following pictures, the red asterisk is the location of sludge incineration plant, and the red box is the location of residential area or commercial area.

(Northwest Bergen Sludge Incineration Plant, New Jersey, USA)

(Cobb County Sludge Incineration Plant, Georgia, USA)

(Lakeview Sludge Incineration Plant, Ontario Canada)

(Galindo Sludge Incineration Plant, Spanish)

The yellow oval area in the above picture is a transportation hub station, and a large residential community is across the road from the sewage plant.

The proportion of sludge disposal and incineration disposal in China is also increasing year by year. The incineration disposal rate is about 10% in 2009 and 26.7% in 2019, making it the second largest disposal method.