SUEZ's First North American Installation Of Heliantis Solar Sludge Drying Technology To Help South Carolina Wastewater Treatment Plant Reduce Sludge

• Manning, S.C. Wastewater Treatment Plant Will Increase Dry Solids Content of Produced Sludge to Over 55 Percent
• Facility Will Achieve Significant Reduction in Cost of Hauling Away Sludge

Seeking an economical and environmentally friendly process to reduce the volume of sludge at its South Carolina wastewater treatment plant, the City of Manning turned to SUEZ and its state-of-the-art Heliantis solar sludge drying technology. When completed later this year, the installation will be the first for this technology in North America.

For the project, SUEZ will design and supply three Heliantis greenhouse solar sludge drying units at the Manning Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Heliantis systems will increase dry solids content of produced sludge to over 55 percent.

“As we faced the need to reduce the volume of sludge production at our wastewater treatment plant and cut the cost to haul it away, we reviewed multiple options before deciding to utilize SUEZ’s Heliantis solar sludge technology,” said long-time Public Works Director Rubin Hardy of the City of Manning, South Carolina. “The opportunity to reduce our transportation and energy costs, and providing us an opportunity to sell or utilize converted sludge as fertilizer, made this an ideal solution for the City of Manning.”

Heliantis technology will convert the input sludge into Class B biosolids, which can be used as fertilizer for growing livestock feed. The Manning Wastewater Treatment Plant can either use it or sell the fertilizer for a profit. The Heliantis systems are scheduled for commercial operation in November 2018.

“SUEZ's Heliantis technology reduces the quantity of dewatered sludge using solar radiation, which is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. This contract with the City of Manning represents the first application of Heliantis in North America,” said Kevin Cassidy, global leader of engineered systems for SUEZ—Water Technologies & Solutions.

The Heliantis system has low operational costs as it uses solar energy and a small amount of electricity for the sludge tiller. Since the Heliantis decreases the volume of sludge by 72 percent, the cost of hauling and transporting sludge off-site will be significantly reduced.

The technology requires very little maintenance. The solar sludge drying unit processes dewatered sludge into a dry and granulated product for agricultural reuse or thermal energy production. Using the sun as the main energy source, sludge dries in a greenhouse and a scarifying machine turns over and breaks up the sludge into carbon-neutral and odorless granules for eventual agricultural reuse or thermal energy production using co-incineration.

For the Manning Wastewater Treatment Plant Project, the United States Department of Agriculture—Rural Development is the funding agency, Turner Murphy Co. Inc. is the general contractor and Hybrid Engineering, Inc. is the consulting engineer of record.

About SUEZ
With 90,000 people on the five continents, SUEZ is a world leader in smart and sustainable resource management. We provide water and waste management solutions that enable cities and industries to optimize their resource management and strengthen their environmental and economic performances, in line with regulatory standards. To meet increasing demands to overcome resource quality and scarcity challenges, SUEZ is fully engaged in the resource revolution. With the full potential of digital technologies and innovative solutions, the Group recovers 17 million tons of waste a year, produces 3.9 million tons of secondary raw materials and 7 TWh of local renewable energy. It also secures water resources, delivering wastewater treatment services to 58 million people and reusing 882 million m³ of wastewater. SUEZ generated total revenues of 15.9 billion euros in 2017.