Biosolids Drying Plant, Christchurch

Under Christchurch City Council’s long term vision for the city’s energy future, the Council made the decision to dry and beneficially utilise the city’s biosolids instead of landfilling the dewatered sludge.
Description of facility: 

Energy for Industry Ltd responded to the council’s tender to supply heat under a 15 year Design Build and Operate (DBO) arrangement with EFI providing an innovative solution using a reliability centred design approach consisting of with a two boiler configuration and integrated wood fuel supply.

Located adjacent to the Council’s drying facility, the Biosolids Energy Centre is located and consists of -

4.5 MWth wood fuelled three pass water tube boiler with an inclined water cooled pinhole grate, flue gas recuperator for combustion air preheating and a flue gas bag filter;
4.3 MWth dual fuelled conventional fire tube biogas/diesel boiler. This boiler can fired on surplus landfill gas, digester gas and diesel or biodiesel;
A wood fuel reception and handling system with 200m3 on site storage of wood chip suitable for delivery of fuel by chip liner (high capacity) trucks; and
High temperature hot water reticulation pipe work from the BEC to the two biosolids dryers.

Facility type: 
Emerging technologies
Application: 
Heat Process
Fuel/Feedstock: 
Wood Fuel
Primary Output: 
Heat
Co-generation: 
No
Address: 
Shuttle Drive, Christchurch
Region: 
Central South Island
Geo Location: 
Owner: 
Christchurch City Council
Consultant: 
BECA
Fuel provider: 
Wood Energy New Zealand (WENZ)
Equipment supplier: 
Pioneer Energy Ltd