Bills slashed

Steam systems from Spirax Sarco are playing a key role in a green energy project that is set to cut Northumbrian Water's annual energy bill by 10%.

Spirax Sarco provided boiler ancillaries and steam plant, including a hotwell, blowdown vessel, controls, valves and sparging equipment. It also provided on- and off-site training, and visits the site regularly as part of an ongoing water treatment and chemical dosing contract.

The £33m advanced anaerobic digestion scheme at Bran Sands converts sewage sludge into energy. It uses thermal hydrolysis, which relies on injections of live steam to kill the pathogens in the sludge. Sludge is cooled and fed to three 7600m3 concrete tanks.Methane-generating microbes digest it anaerobically. The resulting methane is collected and used to fuel gas engines.