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JEA’s Buckman Residuals Treatment Facility treats 100 percent of the residuals, also known as sludge, produced as the result of our treatment of sewage at JEA’s sewer treatment plants.
Prior to 2002, JEA incinerated the sludge byproduct. In 2002, these sludge incinerators were converted to a biosolids (pelletized fertilizer) facility. Biosolids are a natural, low nitrogen/phosphorus, slow-release, organic fertilizer, similar to Milorganite®, which has been produced for over 50 years. JEA markets its biosolids through GreenTechnologies under the brand name GreenEdge®. Currently, all of the biosolids produced are beneficially reused as GreenEdge®. The conversion of the sludge incinerators to a biosolids facility resulted in the following environmental improvements:
- Elimination of sludge incineration
Incineration produced an ash which required disposal in a landfill. Now, all sludge is dried and transformed into GreenEdge. No ash or other byproducts created as the result of this process.
- Significant reduction in air emissions
- Reduction in usage of natural gas
Addition of anaerobic digesters which produce over 600,000 cubic feet of biogas for use as a fuel in the pelletizer system. The estimated reduction of natural gas usage by conversion from incineration to pelletization, in combination with anaerobic digestion, is over 1,000,000 cubic feet per day.
- Reduction of water withdrawal from the Floridan aquifer
The installation of a reclaimed water system at the adjacent Buckman Wastewater Treatment Facility resulted in a one (1) million gallon per day reduction in withdrawal of water from the Floridan aquifer.
Click here for more information on sewer treatment byproducts.
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