How dry sludge fuels the UAE

Not all waste is wasted down the drain

The picture above shows the dry beds in the Al Saja'a industrial zone on the outskirts of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. Laying peacefully in the sun, tonnes of sludge is drying here, catching some UV rays before transforming into... a sustainable source of fuel.

A few miles away, the Al Saja'a wastewater treatment plant is treating sewage coming from all over the Emirate at rapid speed: up to 1,600 tankers every day unload wastewater from buildings that are still not connected to a sewerage network. This amounts to approximately 30,000 m³ of sewage. Multiply that number by two by 2021, once we'll have finished construction on the plant to double its capacity.

We, that's BESIX and Shurooq, Sharjah's investment and development authority. In a joint venture called Qatra Water Solutions, the partners took on the ambitious goal to develop environmental infrastructure for the region and boost environmental initiatives. This includes reducing the effects of sludge landfilling and emissions, as well as making optimal use of treated water to avoid more groundwater abstraction or desalination.

Apart from extending the Al Saja'a plant, Qatra has formed partnerships to achieve its goals: it has signed agreements to reuse its by-products coming from the Al Saja'a Bio-Refinery. And that's where the sludge comes in.

Sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment. Qatra is collecting the sludge, drying it, and sending it over to the Sharjah Cement Factory. The factory then uses that sludge to produce cement. That's right, by drying sludge it results into a green residual semi-solid material, which has calorific fuel value. What's more, Qatra is also providing the factory with treated water, which the plant can use for landscaping and greenery. This is very convenient in a region where water is a rare, strategic resource.

So one plant's waste is another plant's fuel? Exactly. The Sharjah Cement Factory is given a local and ecological alternative to charcoal, while Qatra achieves its zero-waste target objectives. Overall, a circular economy example that contributes to the sustainable development of the emirate.

More on this and Qatra's other projects, read here.