Japan’s First Sludge-to- Activated Carbon System Delivered

Tokyo, July 9, 2008 — Kawasaki Plant Systems, Ltd. announced today that it has delivered a sewage sludge processing system to the Nakajo Water Treatment Center in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture. It is Japan’s fist system that turns sewage sludge into activated carbon.

The sewage sludge processing system dries, carbonizes and activates* sludge to produce activated carbon. This can then be used to remove dioxins from incinerator exhaust. It is a green alternative to using commercially available activated carbon that is helping to save the environment.

The system is comprised of sludge transport/storage, drying and carbonization systems. Kawasaki was responsible for everything from designing the overall system including machine and electric systems to production, installation and onsite testing.

The system consists of the following two main components:
1. Drying system
  Aggregate sludge is crushed and dried by heated air. Its compact design results in superior thermal efficiency.

2. Carbonization system
  The granular sludge is once again dried, thermally decomposed, carbonized and activated as it is carried along the ribbon screw conveyor section of the carbonization conveyor. High temperatures maintained at 800 to 900°C during the latter half of the carbonization process create fine pores on the charcoal surface, resulting in highly adsorptive activated carbon.

*Manufacturing of highly porous charcoal for enhanced adsorption