For the first time in the UK, Severn Trent Water has injected the largest quantity of green gas produced from sewage generated by around 2.5 million people into gas pipes serving homes in the Birmingham area.
Thanks to an innovative treatment process which ensures that the green gas becomes just as clean and exactly the same as ‘normal gas’ the company will save around £1.7 million every year on its gas bill.
Severn Trent Water is the first UK water company to undertake the treatment on such a large scale. Renewable energy development manager, Simon Farris, explained:
“Minworth is our largest sewage treatment works; we treat sewage from around 2.5 million people in the wider Birmingham area. Although it’s a little unsavoury, there’s lots and lots of power locked in poo, and when that’s processed it’s perfect to generate clean renewable green gas.
“As part of the sewage treatment process, sewage sludge is produced. At Minworth we feed this to our 16 anaerobic digesters, or ‘concrete cows’, which work like giant cow’s stomachs to digest the waste material to produce energy in the form of gas. Currently, we use 40 per cent of this energy to make electricity, but more can be done – that’s where this new process comes in. With treatment, gas from sewage is made clean enough and at the right consistency to be injected into the gas supply network to power homes in the area.”
The gas is made suitable for use in homes with a simple process which involves some complex engineering techniques. The gas is ‘washed’ at high pressure and then ‘squashed’ or compressed to put it at the same pressure as natural gas. The gas is then ‘tested’ for quality and an odour is added so it smells like normal gas and then finally ‘injected’ into the gas supply network.
Severn Trent Water also has the opportunity to stop the process before the gas is injected to ensure it is 100% certain it is perfect.
Simon Farris added:
“We generate renewable energy from a number of different sources to help keep costs down for our customers and protect the planet. Innovations like this will help us to generate around 30 per cent of the energy we need to power our sewage and water treatment works from renewable sources by 2015.”
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
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