Fort Worth Implements Thermal Drying of Biosolids

The City of Fort Worth’s Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) Biosolids Processing Facility provides an innovative and sustainable solution for biosolids management. The facility replaced the existing belt filter press/lime stabilization facility with a thermal drying process. The facility produces a pelletized product that appeals to a wide variety of end users due to its nutrient content, low dust, low odor, durability, uniformity and size. The product is a registered commercial fertilizer that can be spread directly on broad acreage and cash crop operations, used as a bulking agent with fertilizer blenders, bagged directly and sold, or used as biofuel. By changing how biosolids are processed, the City has achieved a fourfold reduction in the tonnage of biosolids hauled to land application sites for beneficial reuse. In addition, operational costs have been reduced by millions of dollars annually while producing a product that has superior odor performance and marketability.