WTE is to realise a new sewage sludge mono-incineration plant for Münchner Stadtentwässerung (MSE), which will be tasked with the thermal utilisation of all the sewage sludge produced during wastewater treatment in Munich and the 22 surrounding municipalities connected to it. The contract signing ceremony took place on 27 July 2023 at MSE’s Gut Großlappen Wastewater Treatment Plant.

From left to right: Bernd Fuchs and Robert Schmidt (both plant managers at MSE), Dr Ralf Schröder (Managing Director of WTE), Dr Leon Steuernagel (Head of Business Division Tendering at WTE).

The new sewage sludge incineration plant will replace the existing sewage ludge incineration plant that MSE has been operating at the Gut Großlappen Wastewater Treatment Plant since 1998.

WTE was commissioned by MSE to build a new and more efficient, modern sewage sludge incineration plant to ensure the safe disposal of sewage sludge for the city of Munich and to comply with the amended Sewage Sludge Ordinance (AbfKlärV). As general contractor, we are responsible for the planning, construction and commissioning of the plant – including trial operation and proof of performance.

The new plant will be designed for a throughput of 35,000 to 40,00  tonnes maximum of dry residue per year and can therefore thermally utilise the entire sludge from both Munich wastewater treatment plants – Gut Großlappen and Gut Marienhof.

Thanks to its extensive experience in operating the existing sewage sludge incineration plant, MSE attaches particular importance to operational and disposal safety. For this reason, the new sewage sludge incineration plant being built by WTE will feature two largely identical incineration lines. One of the two lines will serve as a reserve to maximise the availability of the entire sewage sludge incineration plant in the event of a line being overhauled – a major advantage in terms of safety. The plant will also be equipped with a bunker, which will enable temporary storage of the dewatered sewage sludge in the event of unplanned interruptions to operations.

The phosphorus-rich sewage sludge ash produced will be utilised by the MSE to recover phosphorus in accordance with the requirements of the Sewage Sludge Ordinance.

State-of-the-art plant technology will harness the waste heat from incineration in a stationary fluidised bed to generate electrical energy and effectively reduce emissions in order to comply with the limit values of the BAT conclusions.

The planned replacement construction of the sewage sludge incineration plant will therefore not only make an important contribution to waste disposal security in Munich but will also contribute to the sustainable protection of people, the environment and resources – in keeping with the values of WTE and Münchner Stadtentwässerung.

Thermal sewage sludge utilisation is one of WTE's core competencies. The new sewage sludge incineration plant in Munich is already the fourth sewage sludge incineration plant that WTE has realised in Germany. We are also developing incineration plants abroad, for wastewater treatment plants of all sizes, in order to increase disposal reliability and support the protection of ecosystems through our contribution.

Joint project kick-off: The members of the project teams of Münchner Stadtentwässerung and WTE as well as the plant managers and managing directors.