Department of Power Engineering (UCT Prague)

The Department of Power Engineering at the Faculty of Environmental Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague) addresses the overall issue of thermochemical treatment of sewage sludge in the entire technological process, i.e., sludge drying, sludge pyrolysis, sludge incineration, pyrolysis gas and flue gas treatment, and the treatment of the resulting products such as sludge-char and ash.

The department is fully equipped to determine the relevant fuel, functional, and environmental properties of sewage sludge and the products of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration processes. Senior and junior researchers, PhD students, as well as department students in process engineering and power engineering, ion exchange and membrane technologies, and corrosion are involved in the study of the above-mentioned issues. Currently, ongoing projects deal with: removal of PFASs during sewage sludge pyrolysis, physicochemical properties of sludge-chars and ashes after the sludge pyrolysis/incineration, application research on a commercial pyrolysis unit, and phosphorus and sewage sludge flows in the Czech Republic for applied research in phosphorus recovery or agricultural use of sludge-chars.

More information and a list of current projects and publications can be found on the website: https://uen.vscht.cz/research/58693.

Examples of specific research topics and long-term research tasks are summarised in the bullet points below:

Sludge drying:

• integration of solar dryers and pyrolysis/incineration technology,
• study of physicochemical properties of sewage sludge from different types of dryers with regard to their storage and thermal utilisation (pyrolysis, incineration).

Sludge pyrolysis/treatment of primary pyrolysis gas:

• study of sludge-char properties in dependence on the sludge properties, type of pyrolysis reactor and the process conditions, with regards to its subsequent use as a soil improver,
• study of the organic micropollutants fate during the pyrolysis process,
• sludge dosing into the pyrolysis unit,
• high-temperature filtration (dust removal) of the primary pyrolysis gas before combustion,
• application research on a commercial pyrolysis unit in cooperation with an industrial partner (HST Hydrosystems).

Sludge incineration:

• sludge dosing into fluidised bed incinerators,
• stationary fluidised bed sludge incineration,
• flue gas treatment according to Directive 2010/75/EU and Commission Implementing Decision 2019/2010/EU,
• study of the properties of ash and primary cyclone ash for its material recovery - e.g. for phosphoric acid production,

Contact:

Assoc. Prof. Michael Pohořelý, Ph.D. ()
Department of Power Engineering
University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
Technická 3
166 28 Prague 6