RINO Announces New Sludge Treatment System
RINO International Corp. on Nov. 11 announced that it has successfully developed a new sludge treatment system through cooperation with the Dalian University of Technology.
The new treatment system uses superheated steam to dehydrate municipal sludge that can be used as agricultural fertilizer, as a component in various construction materials, or combined with coal to generate energy more efficiently with less pollution.
The Chinese government recently implemented a new regulation that at least 60 percent of municipal wastewater has to be treated by 2010 and is expected to significantly increase the amount of municipal sludge produced from the wastewater treatment process in China in next several years.
RINO management estimates the profit to process one ton of municipal sludge varies between $12 and $19 depending on the steam source, and currently China generates approximately 27.8 million metric tons of municipal sludge annually, which is comprised of approximately 80 percent water.
This technology also can be used to dehydrate oil sludge, which can then be used in place of coal. Northeastern China, where RINO is located, is the oil industry center and this region generates approximately 2 million tons of oil sludge annually.
Dalian University of Technology has made a patent application for this technology in China. RINO will pay an ongoing royalty of approximately 5 percent of sales to the university.
"We are very pleased to announce this new system developed through our cooperation with the Dalian University of Technology," said Zou Dejun, director and chief executive officer of RINO. "We have already installed and tested this system internally and the results confirm the functionality of our system in dehydrating multiple kinds of sludge. We will move forward with additional field trials and expect to commercialize this product during the first half of 2009. Supported by our strong customer base and brand name, we anticipate the sludge treatment system will further diversify our revenue stream and become a significant growth driver going forward."
RINO designs, manufactures, installs, and services proprietary and patented wastewater treatment, flue gas desulfurization equipment, and high temperature anti-oxidation systems, which are all designed to reduce either industrial pollution and/or improve energy utilization.