Biomass is the collective name of solid matter of organic origin, which in this context is used as a fuel. In contrast to fossil fuel, biomass is 'close' to its biological origin so that combustion of biomass is considered a CO2 neutral operation. That is why biomass is called renewable and, what is more, it is considered as one of the most important renewable energy sources. Typical examples are wood, straw, dried sludge, ...

Sludge is the end product of biological wastewater treatment and thus is a natural byproduct of WATERLEAU's wastewater treatment technologies (LUCAS®, BIOTIM®). As sludge usually contains too much water, even after mechanical dewatering, to be used as a fuel, it has to be thermally dried. Waterleau has the HYDROGONE® and PUTTART® drying technology available for this purpose. After drying, the sludge has heating value of approx. 16 MJ/kg similar to brown coal and thus is an interesting fuel. Apart from sludge, many other types of biomass exist.

From the technical point of view, energy from biomass shows a lot of similarities to energy from waste. The same technologies are available (ENERGIZE® grate, TURNOVER® rotary kiln, HELIOSOLIDS® fluidized bed, ...) as for energy from waste. The choice between the systems depends on the nature (dimension, density, shape) of the biomass. Compared to incineration of waste, combustion of biomass usually generates less corrosive compounds in the flue gases. This not only allows a simpler flue gas cleaning system but also a higher energy efficiency (higher steam parameters).