Sludge processor to recover energy from wastewater at ArcelorMittal Ghent site

At the site of steel company ArcelorMittal in Ghent, construction has started on a new, ultramodern sludge-processing plant of water treatment company Aquafin. The aim is to recover energy from wastewater from 2027 onwards.

The companies Besix and Indaver have started the construction of the new plant, which should take about two years, according to a press release from ArcelorMittal Belgium. The steel company will use the steam produced by the plant in its production process to reduce its use of fossil fuels. ArcelorMittal aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

The plant was planned to be operational in 2026, but its start has been delayed by one year. Foster, the “Special Purpose Vehicle” set up by Indaver and Besix for these works, has now fully completed its finance package and has started construction. The investment involved amounts to 200 million euros.

Aquafin treats much of the domestic wastewater in Flanders. In the biological purification process, microorganisms do the purification work, enabling continuous growth. The biomass created contains great potential for energy and raw materials. Aquafin has long been producing green energy and biomethane from the biogas derived from biomass fermentation.

The ArcelorMittal site in Ghent will now host a sludge processor that will also recover energy and raw materials. The steel company gives Aquafin a building right on the site and will take the entire steam production of the sludge treatment as an additional feed for the internal steam network. This will save the equivalent of 28,000 tonnes of CO2, according to the press release.

Aquafin also plans to recover phosphorus with this plant. Phosphorus is used in modern agriculture in the form of phosphate in fertilisers. Via human urine, it enters wastewater and from there into sewage sludge. Through the processing of sludge, phosphorus can be recovered. According to the press release, this should make Flanders less dependent on foreign mining operations.

^{#FlandersNewsService | The site of steel company ArcelorMittal in Ghent © BELGA PHOTO VILDAPHOTO}