We’re leading specialists in cleaning all kinds of tanks and have recently completed two major cleaning projects for our client Severn Trent Water.
Sewage treatment processes produce large amounts of solid matter known as sludge. This sludge also needs to be treated so that it can be used as fertiliser on agricultural land.
Sludge is loaded into airtight tanks called anaerobic digesters, where it is kept 35°C and mixed with bacteria to break it down. As the bacteria digest the sewage methane (a natural gas) is produced, as well as a fertilizer by-product. Severn Trent Water use the methane to produce heat and electricity.
The digester tanks require cleaning and maintenance to keep them working at optimum levels. In addition to biosolids (sludge) other unwanted materials find their way into the tank – known as rag and grit. MTS remove these materials with powerful vacuum tankers before thoroughly cleaning the tanks.
At Severn Trent Water’s Finham STW (sewage treatment plant) we removed 280 tonnes of grit and 20 tonnes of rag.
At a nearby sump in the Severn Trent system (Baginton) our crews removed 30 tonnes of rag and eight tonnes of grit. You can see the difference in the before and after photos at the top of this page.
Once the digester tank had been cleaned it was put back into service as part of the sewage treatment process.
Read more about Severn Trent Water's recycling of sewage sludge.
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