Biosolids Dryer Technology Types, Product Types and

Market Value

By Todd O. Williams, PE, BCEE

VWEA Education Seminar

Collaborative Biosolids: Fuel for Thought

Richmond, Virginia

May 11, 2017

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Biosolids Dryer Technology Types, Product Types and Market Value

Acknowledgements:

Brian Owsenek, UOSA

Rodney Lloyd, Leesburg

Tim Gallagher, CH2M

Tim Bauer, CH2M

Peter Burrowes, CH2M

Ron Alexander, Alexander Associates

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Outline

• Drying Technologies Overview

• Product Marketing Issues

• Virginia Case Studies

• Summary

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Why Dry Biosolids?

•Mass & Volume reduction

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Percent of Solids Dried (2030 Basis)

No

. o

f T

rucks

/Day

Trucks for Hauling

Trucks for Hauling Cake(No./Day)

Trucks for Hauling DryProduct (No./Day)

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Why Dry Biosolids?

•Produces a Class A product (under Part 503 rules)– unrestricted use

– flexible usages• commercial fertilizer blend (prepared)

• fertilizer amendment (direct land application)

• fuel – cement kilns

•Can be stored easily (well, sort of….)

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Drying Technologies

• Rotary Drums (Direct)– Jones Island, WI; UOSA, VA;

Changi, Singapore; Louisville,

KY; Corona, CA; Bonita

Springs, FL; Leesburg, VA; Blue

Lake, MN; Stamford, CT;

Philadelphia, PA

– Advantages• Product quality

• High capacity

• Operating experience

– Disadvantages• High cost

• High safety provisions

• Complexity, O&M

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Typical Direct Drum Dryer

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Drying Technologies

• Belt Dryers (Direct)– Kenosha, WI– Low temperature air is used to

heat, absorb moisture• recycle optional• heated by furnace or heat

exchanger

– Advantages• Product quality (moderate)

• Safety (lower temp & low dust)

• Waste heat provisions

• Can use waste heat from CHP

– Disadvantages• Large footprint vs capacity

• Moderate complexity, O&M

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Drying Technologies

• Paddle & Screw (Indirect)– Wilsonville, OR; Wilmington, DE– hot oil or steam are used to

heat hollow paddles and shaft• recycle not typical• variable speed rotors• dryers are horizontal single-pass

– Advantages• Good for smaller plants

• Lower complexity

– Disadvantages• Product quality

• Sludge quality adaptability

– Neutral• Safety

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Drying Technologies

• Continuous Batch (Indirect) – Fayetteville, AR

– Hot oil is used to heat rotor• Recycle not typical

• Mixing augers and drum

• Fill – Dry – Discharge cycle

– Advantages• Good for smaller plants

• Lower complexity

– Disadvantages• Product quality

– Neutral• Batch operation

• Safety

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Drying Technologies

End of batch – ready for unloading

Drying

• Solar Drying – Lincoln, Rio Vista, Salida

CA; Kent County, MD

– Sun and forced ventilation

used• Climatic sensors control

airflow and mole

– Advantages• Good for smaller plants

• Lower complexity

– Disadvantages• Large space required

– Neutral• Batch operation

• Safety

– Can be used in tandem with

thermal dryers to reduce

energy use by half

Chamber filling

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Drying Technologies– …..and others

• Thin film (Green Bay, WI)

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Drying Technologies

– …..and others• Fluid Bed

• Tray

• Flash

• Electric

• Etc.

Dryer Types

(2011)

Number of

Facilities

USA Canada

Drum 38 6

Belt 7

Indirect 78 1

Solar 15

Total 138 7

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Product Marketing and Quality and End Use Issues

• Seasonality of Production and Use– Especially apparent in northern

climates– Storage in winter is an issue

• Pellet Quality– Big difference in product uniformity

• Direct dryers• Indirect dryers

– Hardness– Dust– Size– Uniformity

– Contaminants (Metals, Fiber, Plastics)– Odors

• Digested or not

• Nutrient Content (N-P-K)– Generally N = 5 to 6– Generally P = 3 to 8– Generally K = 0

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Product Marketing and Quality and End Use Issues

• Fertilizer Blenders– Require High Degree of Uniformity and will pay top $

• Agricultural Users– Do not require uniformity and will pay much less, if at all

• Soil Blenders?– Are they really interested in the products and willing to pay?

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WEF RBC Conducted a Survey in 2016 and Published a Fact Sheet of Operating Dryer Facilities in 2017

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WEF Survey/Fact Sheet Highlights

• Virtually all dryer facilities sell

granulated product

• Half of respondents sell product for

$1-$20/ton

• One third of respondents sell

product for greater than $20/ton

• Most (>75%) market product in bulk

only

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Recent Survey Results from Several California Dryer Facilities (Corona, Encina, Sacramento, Ventura)

• Only high quality pellets can be sold

for substantial price.

• High quality pellets are being sold in

relatively small quantities to golf

courses and nurseries for $100 -

$120/ton in super-sacks

• High quality pellets are sold in bulk to

landscapers, nurseries and

greenhouses range from $40 - $85/ton

• Bulk sales to fertilizer blenders and

brokers in the $20 - $40/ton range

• Bulk sales to farmers/agriculture value

between $12 - $17/ton and used

mainly to prevent on site storage

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Case Study – UOSA, Virginia

• Berlie/Swiss Combi (3265) installed in 2004

• Andritz DDS 40 installed in 2014

• Operate 24/5

• Process digested primary blended with undigested WAS

• Process about 6,000 DT/Year

• N-P-K = 5-3-0

• Market product by third party

• 50/50 share in product revenues

• Sold in bulk only

• Wintertime, mostly agriculture at $20/T

• Summer to fertilizer blenders at $40/T

• After $15/T Admin fee, net +$5/T when sold to blenders, net -$5/T when sold to ag/farmers

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Case Study – Leesburg, Virginia

• Andritz DDS 20 installed in 2002

• Operate 2 shifts, 5 days per week

(5 am- 10 pm)

• Process digested primary blended

with undigested WAS

• Process about 1,000 DT/Year

• N-P-K = 6-3-0

• Market product themselves

• Giveaway in bags to residents

• Sold in bulk and in bags

• Published information on website

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Leesburg TLC Product Sales in 2016

Tons # bags Revenue

(including

delivery)

Net Revenue

($/ton)

Net Revenue

($/bag)

% product

distributed

50 lb bags sold 108 4320 $26,400 $244.44 $6.11 10.6%

Bulk sold 575 $41,713 $72.54 56.5%

50 lb bags giveaway 84 3360 8.3%

Bulk giveaway 251 24.6%

Total 1018 7680 $68,113 $66.91 100.0%

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Summary Thoughts

• There are many drier types that create many different product types– Understand your objectives– Know what the local market is

• Before selecting a technology!

• Higher quality uniform products are sold at higher prices

• Markets are generally good for dried products

• Brokers have capacity to move product quickly and efficiently but will pay significantly less for product

• Utilities that market their own product require dedicated staff, but reap higher profits on product sales

• Build flexibility into your program!

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Biosolids Dryer Technology Types, Product Types and Market Value

QUESTIONS?

Todd O. Williams, PE, BCEE

todd.williams@ch2m.com