How Does Paradigm’s Microsludge® Reduce Waste and Create Energy?
Source: www.microsludge.com – Paradigm Environmental Technologies’ website.
MicroSludge® is a simple process that destroys the bacterial cells of waste activated sludge (WAS). It is the simplicity of design, highly qualified management and engineers, and the overall success of the product that makes Paradigm and Microsludge® a perfect investee company for GreenAngel Energy. With Federal Minister Stockwell Day on board, Microsludge® is poised to revolutionize BC’s Pulp and Paper Industry.
The cell membranes of microbes in WAS are extremely resilient. This severely limits their breakdown to biogas in anaerobic digesters. MicroSludge® destroys the membranes of these microbes in an efficient and economical way.
The cell membranes of WAS are destroyed by MicroSludge® and the liquid cellular contents (the “cytoplasm”) are released, ready for digestion. This accelerates digester performance. With conventional anaerobic digestion, typically only 20 to 30% of WAS is converted to biogas. With MicroSludge® pre-treatment prior to anaerobic digestion, WAS is more efficiently converted into biogas.
MicroSludge® enables an anaerobic digester to produce more biogas from WAS. Biogas can be used to: (1) generate heat and electricity through co-generation using a number of equipment types, (2) produce biomethane that can be used as green compressed natural gas (CNG), or (3) burned directly to displace natural gas for plant heating or sludge drying.
The extent of digester performance improvement with MicroSludge cannot be generalized since it depends on many factors. With MicroSludge, volatile solids reduction of WAS up to 90% have been observed. In the case of the current trial for the Pulp and Paper Industry, analysts believe that the mill’s WAS can be reduced by 50%.
The MicroSludge System uses chemical pre-treatment and a cell disrupter to burst the microbial cells in WAS. The resulting liquefied WAS is readily converted to biogas in an anaerobic digester.
A MicroSludge System is delivered pre-assembled to a wastewater treatment plant or pulp and paper mill as skid-mounted modular units. The modules can be configured to accommodate specific plant needs and available space. Optionally, they can be supplied in engineered buildings directly from Paradigm. The System is easily scaled for plants typically serving 100,000 or more people, or for food processing, pulp and paper, petrochemical, or other industries that generate WAS in significant quantities.