Using wastewater as a renewable energy source

Jemena is working with Sydney Water and Eneraque to upgrade a wastewater treatment plant so that it can convert wastewater into usable gas.

The $16 million biomethane project will be located at Sydney Water’s Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant, in South Sydney. The project is co-funded by the federal government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It will use biomethane upgraders to remove water, carbon dioxide, other gases and contaminants from wastewater to produce renewable biomethane. This will then be used in the local gas network. Eneraque will be fabricating the upgraders, which use a number of processes for the conversion process such as dehumidification, activated carbon filters and compression.

“Fabricating the upgrader package in Australia is a great step towards helping to build a new design and manufacturing industry which will support our renewable energy transition,” said Gabrielle Sycamore, Jemena’s General Manager of Renewable Gas.

“We’re excited about the potential for bioenergy and biofuels to help decarbonise sectors of our economy, like manufacturing, which rely on gas as a feedstock, as well as provide renewable gas for customers to use at home.

“Biomethane production is a great example of creating a circular economy — it keeps products and materials in use, reducing the production of new waste and pollution, and regenerating natural systems.”

The project will remove 5000 tonnes of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to taking 4500 cars off the road, and if scaled up to its full potential could remove a further 6000 tonnes. The facility is expected to be running and injecting biomethane into the Sydney gas network before the end of the year.