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01World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium & Forum: Low Carbon Cities & Urban
Energy Joint Conference, WES-CUE 2017, 19–21 July 2017, Singapore

Waste The 15th International

to Energy SolutionSymposium
– TheonSludge
District Heating and Cooling
Treatment Facility
in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
temperature function for aa, David
Leslie Swann long-term
Downsbdistrict heat cdemand
, Melissa Waye * forecast
a,b,c Jacobs China Limited
I. Andrića,b,c*, A. Pinaa, P. Ferrãoa, J. Fournierb., B. Lacarrièrec, O. Le Correc
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
c
Département Systèmes Énergétiques
The Environmental Protection Department et Environnement
(EPD) - IMT Atlantique,
of the Government 4 rue Alfred
of Hong Kong Kastler,
Special 44300 Nantes,
Administrative Franceis the owner
Region
and project proponent of the Sludge Treatment Facility (STF), a facility dedicated to treating sewage sludge. The Contract to
design, build and operate the STF was awarded to VW-VES (HK) Limited (a subsidiary of Veolia), and Jacobs China Limited
was appointed to act as the Employer’s Representative in October 2010. The construction of the STF was substantially
Abstract
completed in 2015 and it was put into operation on 1 April 2015.
The STF, featuring state-of-art incineration technology, provides for a sustainable sewage sludge treatment solution, with a view
District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
to maximizing the reduction on disposal of the sludge to landfill. In consideration of the diminishing landfill space, the STF is
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
designed to have a capacity of treating 2,000 tonnes per day, thereby reducing the mass of the sludge by 90%.
sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
The STF is also on another green mission – to convert waste into renewable energy harnessing the heat from the incineration
prolonging the investment return period.
process to generate electricity, resulting in the provision of all power for the daily on-site operations, with the design allowing the
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
export of surplus power to the local grid. The STF also includes facilities for the production of both process and potable water
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
as well as being able to treat all waste water for use on-site. This adopted design makes the STF a self-sustainable facility with
buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
no incoming water supply and outfall for wastewater.
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
As well as the abovementioned technical aspects, the STF serves as a community facility. An environmental education centre
compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
located inside the STF showcases the technology used within the STF to convert waste-to-energy, and also to promote public
The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
awareness of various environmental issues in Hong Kong. There is also a diverse range of recreational and open areas (e.g. spa
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
and garden) for the public to experience the benefits of waste-to-energy. Since the opening of the EEC on 29 June 2016, the
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
number of visitors has exceeded 72,000.
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium &
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
Forum: Low Carbon Cities & Urban Energy Joint Conference.
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Cooling.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +852-2880-9788; fax: +852-2556-5561.
E-mail address: Melissa.Waye@jacobs.com
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium &
Forum: Low Carbon Cities & Urban Energy Joint Conference.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium & Forum: Low
Carbon Cities & Urban Energy Joint Conference.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.12.717
 Leslie Swann et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 500–505 501
2 Leslie Swann, David Downs, Melisa Waye/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

Keywords: Incinerator; Waste to energy; Sludge treatment

1. Introduction & Project Background

In early 2000s, a feasibility study was carried out to review the then prevailing practice of disposing of sludge
produced by the sewage treatment plants in Hong Kong to the landfill sites without any treatment. The study
revealed that the amount of sludge produced was forecast to increase from about 900 to 1,300 tonnes per day in the
near future, primarily because of the commissioning of Harbour Area Treatment Scheme Stage 2A, which is a
scheme to improve water quality in Victoria Harbour, and the general upgrading of the existing sewage treatment
plants across Hong Kong. In view of the limited landfill space, the study concluded that there was an urgent need to
build an incinerator to treat the sludge generated daily.
The Environmental Protection Department of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
therefore embarked on the construction of the Sludge Treatment Facility (STF). VW-VES (HK) Limited (a
subsidiary of Veolia) was awarded the Design, Build and Operate Contract, and Jacobs China Limited was
appointed to act as the Employer’s Representative in October 2010. The STF has been in operation since 1 April
2015.
This paper will discuss the different facets of planning and features of the STF which underline the success of the
facility in fulfilling its sludge treatment objective, and also realizing the waste-to-energy agenda for the green
development Hong Kong.

2. The Sludge Treatment Facility

2.1. Features of The STF

The location and layout of the STF is shown in Figure 1 (a) and (b) respectively. From the layout plan, it can be
seen that the STF is designed to house two plants in mirror image (Plant A and Plant B), with an Administration
Building in between that also houses the chimney flues for the four incineration trains.
a b

Fig. 1. (a) Location of the STF; (b) Layout of the STF

Each treatment plant can be classified into three separate zones:

• Sludge Receiving Zone – bunker and deodorization area

• Incinerator Zone – incineration and steam production area
• Treatment Zone – flue gas treatment and residue handling area
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Leslie Swann, David Downs, Melisa Waye/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

In additional to the above three zones, there are two major groups of supporting facilities – the water treatment
and supply system and the power generator and supply system. Both of these supporting systems are designed with
the intention for the STF to become a self-sufficient facility. The simplified process diagram for the sludge treatment
is presented in Figure 2.

Fig. 2. Simplified Process Diagram of the STF

2.2. Sludge Receiving Zone

The majority of the sludge (over 70%) is delivered from Stonecutter’s Island Sewage Treatment Facility (STW)
by barge to a nearby seawall berth and then by a short journey to the STF on a purpose built road, while the other
STW’s deliver their sludge by road on a daily basis. The sludge is deposited in the bunkers and then fed to hoppers
by grab crane which deliver it to the screw conveyors that lead directly to the incinerators. The treatment capacity of
the STF is 2,000 tonnes per day, and the bunkers are designed to store up to approximately 3000m3 per plant to
provide a buffer. The bunkers are divided so that primary sludge (over 75%) and secondary (biological or digested)
sludge (approximately 25%) are stored separately so that they can be mixed in the correct proportion for optimum
combustion before delivery to the incinerators.
The odour generated in the sludge receiving zone and bunker area is collected and treated in the deodorization
units provided.

2.3. Incinerator Zone

Four incinerators (i.e. two in each plant) were provided, each with a treatment capacity of 550 wet tonnes of
sludge per day, so that the STF can meet the overall design requirement of being capable of treating 2,000 tonnes of
sludge per day. In view of the sludge characteristics (including the high salinity of Hong Kong sludge), the fluidized
bed incinerator was considered to be the best solution to facilitate this process.
The fluidized bed incinerator comprises three zones – 1) inlet and distribution, 2) fluidized bed and 3) gas
exhaust. Sludge is introduced to the system through injection nozzles and is distributed evenly in the fluidized bed.
The bed comprises sand and air nozzles located at the bottom of the incinerator, where the sand is fluidized as
 Leslie Swann et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 500–505 503
4 Leslie Swann, David Downs, Melisa Waye/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

boiling liquid when the optimal air velocity is introduced, and produces gas bubbles and heavy turbulence that mix
with the injected sludge. The bed is initially heated by injecting diesel fuel. The movement of the hot sand looks
very similar to boiling liquid, which explains the term “fluidized bed”. The hot, bubbling sand provides a scrubbing
action which enhances the combustion process by stripping away the char layers found around the sludge particles
and improving the efficiency of the combustion process by creating more surface area. This scrubbing action
contributes to the decreasing of the sludge overall volume, reducing its mass to approximately 10% of the original.
The fluidized bed system is an “open bottom” arrangement, which has the advantage of avoiding frequent shut
down of the system to clean up material built up at the bottom of the incinerator. It also acts as a filter, so that coarse
material is allowed to sink to the bottom hopper and to be removed, while ash is extracted to either recycle into the
system as bed material or be disposed of.
The walls of the incinerators consist of continuous water pipes so that each incinerator also acts as a boiler to
produce steam to run the turbines. The hot flue gas undergoes several stages of heat recovery before entering the
Flue Gas Treatment process.

2.4. Treatment Zone

The Flue Gas Treatment (FGT) system consists of three stages and treats the combustion gases so that they meet
the stringent regulations imposed by the environmental impact assessment requirements on emission of pollutants.
The possible pollutants and byproducts extracted by the three stages include:

• Ashes and residues (particulates);

• Acid gases such as Hydrogen Chloride, Hydrogen Fluoride, Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide etc; and
• Heavy metals and Dioxins and Furans

First a multi-cyclone separator removes dust and heavy particles. Then the flue gas is injected with different
chemicals in the dry reactor (e.g. sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the acid in the flue gas, powdered activated
carbon for adsorption of dioxins, mercury and organic pollutant). Finally the flue gas flows through a bag filter
system where the remaining ash and residues, such as those produced during the sodium bicarbonate and activated
carbon treatment will be removed. Note also the Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction system (SNCR) injects
ammonia directly into the incinerator to control the Nitrogen Oxide emissions.
No visible plume will be generated to discharge from chimney stacks during the operation of the STF. Data from
Hong Kong Observatory and flue gas characteristic were reviewed to find the potential plume formation and heated
air is injected into the flue gas to reduce the visibility of plume for certain weather conditions throughout the year.
A continuous emission monitoring system is installed as part of the FGT system to monitor the flue gas and
ensure the compliance with the stringent emission requirements.

2.5. Ancillary and Supporting Facilities

Ancillary / supporting facilities are also incorporated into the STF to assist with the operation. The two major
supporting systems are “water treatment and supply system”, and “power generation and supply system”. The
design adopted for the STF therefore makes it self-sustainable, as no external water supply or sewage outfall is
provided and the external power provision is for standby only.

2.5.1. Water Supply and Treatment System

The Facility is equipped with a desalination plant and a waste water treatment plant, allowing the facility to
produce its own water and treat its waste water for recycling.
The desalination plant produces process water (demineralized water) for the steam production and potable water
for consumption. Seawater is pumped to the desalination plant, where it goes through two rounds of reverse
osmosis. A pre-treatment system is also implemented to account for variations in seawater quality. For drinking
504 Leslie Swann et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 500–505
Leslie Swann, David Downs, Melisa Waye/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

water production, remineralization is carried out in the plant and the quality meets the World Health Organization’s
requirements for drinking water.
The Contract requires that all waste water is recycled on site for non-potable uses, such as landscape irrigation
and vehicle cleaning. The wastewater is treated by a bio-reactor and UV-treatment. As there is a zero-discharge
policy required by the Environmental Permit, an emergency storage tank was also provided on Site to ensure the
waste water treatment system is robust to changes on site.

2.5.2. Power Supply and Generator System

The primary source of electricity used for STF daily operations is provided by the two steam turbine generators
that are fed with steam recovered from the incineration of sludge to generate all electricity needed to operate STF.
The steam is then condensed back into water through the air cooled condensers and fed back to boilers for further
heating.
In addition to being self-sustaining in power, the STF is also designed to be a waste-to-energy facility by
exporting surplus power to local electricity grid provided by China Light and Power Hong Kong Ltd (CLP). The
steam turbines producing power at STF can also export up to 2MWe of electricity power to CLP’s grid.

3. The Architecture, Education and Contribution to the Community

In addition to the waste-to-energy concept adopted in the design, another mission the STF thrived to achieve was
to challenge the conventional appearance of a sewage sludge treatment facility and to improve its recognition with
the local population. Careful planning and consideration of architecture, exhibition space, and open areas were
included to promote the appreciation of opportunities and environmental benefits that the STF contributed to Hong
Kong.

3.1. The Architecture

The architecture of the STF blends in with the surrounding environment and natural scenery. The curved steel
roof is shaped to harmonize with the landscape backdrop of Deep Bay behind the STF, but also capture an
appreciation of the Chinese culture as it mimicked the wings of dragon from Chinese myths. Landscaping elements
also considered various aspects of Chinese Feng Shui to attempt to draw appreciation of the relationship between
man and nature. The colour scheme at the STF was selected to reflect the state-of-art equipment that the Facility
houses. Elements such as stacks, silos and pipes are concealed within the structure and façade to eliminate the
appearance of a conventional appearance of an industrialized sewage sludge treatment facility. The overview of the
STF is presented in Figure 3.

Fig. 3. Overview of the STF

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Leslie Swann et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 500–505 505

3.2. The Education Centre

The STF has also reserved an area for education exhibition in addition to the treatment facility. The purpose of
the Environmental Education Centre (EEC) is not only to educate the public about the use and benefits of the STF,
but also to promote the appreciation and awareness of sustainable solutions applicable in Hong Kong. The
exhibition was designed to provide an interactive experience, and incorporates a viewing gallery where visitors can
look at various parts of the plant. Through this exhibition experience, it aims to connect the STF with the public so
that its benefits and applications will be easily recognized from a layman’s point of view. To date, there have been
on average over 300 visitors per day.
Prior to formal opening the STF was renamed as T- Park. (Reference 1)

3.3. The Compensation Areas

Another aspect that was considered at the STF was how to compensate the space used by the STF for both the
residents and nature.
The landscaped area contained within the STF is not only intended to be a public area for the visitors to enjoy,
but also provides compensation for the trees removed during the construction. The STF has also included three
dipping pools at the spa within the EEC, where the water and the power to heat it are all produced within the STF, as
a means to introduce a public leisure facility.
In addition to tree compensation, the STF had also constructed a lagoon area, which acts as a compensation
habitat area for the various bird species resident in the area, such as the Little Grebe, which was mostly found near
the ash lagoon the STF is built on.

4. Conclusion

The STF incorporates state-of-art incineration technology to handle sludge in a more sustainable way, and also
caters for the needs of nearby local residents and nature. The STF is a visionary facility forging an ambitious step
forward to a more sustainable Hong Kong.

References

1. T-Park Web site - https://www.tpark.hk/en/