A Logan City Council project has won a major national award at the southern hemisphere’s largest water event.
The project is a biosolids gasification facility which cost $17.28 million and converts human waste into an environmentally friendly biochar – a charcoal-like substance used as soil conditioner and often added to potting mix.
The facility, the first of its kind in Australia, provides sustainable disposal of sewage sludge.
The project was named Australia’s premier Infrastructure Project Innovation (Metro) at the Ozwater’23 national awards.
Infrastructure chair, Teresa Lane, said Logan Water’s efforts helped Logan cope with its “rapidly growing community”.
“It is fantastic to see their outstanding efforts to support and bolster our community recognised at a national level,” Ms Lane said.
The biosolids gasification facility, which opened in April last year, produces biochar by dewatering sewage sludge in a centrifuge, drying it in a paddle dryer, and treating it with high temperatures in a gasifier.
The outcome of this process provides a disposal alternative to saves council $500,000 per year.
It also lowers operating costs, reduces energy consumption, produces a smaller carbon footprint, destroys organic pollutants, and provides Logan council with a marketable product.
