United Utilities is getting ready to start exporting biogas to the grid from its Daavyhulme Manchester’s wastewater treatment plant in Trafford, Manchester.
The sludge digestion centre at Davyhulme currently produces renewable energy in the form of biogas to generate electricity and the water company is now planning to introduce a process that cleans the biogas to produce "green" gas and inject this directly into the gas grid for use by businesses and households.
Tom Lissett, sludge business manager for United Utilities, explained:
"We’re always looking at ways to maximise the amount of value we can get from sewage sludge. It might have been considered a waste stream at one time, but now we call sludge ‘black gold’.
"Already we use our biogas in engines to generate renewable heat and electricity from Davyhulme - enough to power the entire works. As we increase the efficiency of the sewage and sludge treatment process we are able to generate more biogas and as a result we’ll be able to put that into the gas grid for the very first time."
United Utilities is to lay a new gas pipe along Rivers Lane to connect into the existing gas network on Barton Road near Trafford Retail Park.Work to lay the new gas main connection will start on Monday 8th February and take three weeks to complete. At the treatment works itself, a cleaning plant is being built to make sure the biogas is pure enough to be injected into the gas grid. The scheme should be up and running with gas going into supply in the Spring.
Tom Lissett added that the benefits United Utilities can obtain from the biogas would help the companty to protect customers from higher bills in future.
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