New Florida Pelletizing Plant Is Recycling More Than Biosolids Environmental Focus Uses State of the Art Technology, Good Neighbor Design

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New Florida Pelletizing Plant Is Recycling More Than Biosolids

Environmental Focus Uses State of the Art Technology, Good Neighbor Design

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New Florida Pelletizing Plant Is Recycling More Than Biosolids

Environmental Focus Uses State of the Art Technology, Good Neighbor Design

HOUSTON,, TEXAS, May. 7 -/E-Wire/-- A newly constructed state-of-the-art biosolids heat drying and pelletization facility is now providing service for Pinellas County, Florida and operating with environmentally friendly designs that recycle the wastewater, the air emissions, and the sewage sludge entering the plant.

The Florida facility was designed and built by a team led by Synagro Technologies Inc. and is seen as a model biosolids treatment concept by the many interested neighboring municipalities that have visited it recently. According to County Utilities Director, Pick Talley, "Pinellas County now has one of the most sophisticated wastewater facilities in the country. We are delighted to officially open this plant."

The facility is processing the biosolids within a contained building to reduce odors and also is treating the air emissions from the plant to allow for a "good neighbor" relationship between the County and surrounding residents. Further, the facility utilizes methane gas produced from other portions of the wastewater treatment process as a renewable energy source. Utilizing this methane helps reduce greenhouse gases.

The biosolids heat drying pelletizer recently began operations after a formal acceptance of the project by the County which followed their review of successful system performance tests conducted in March. Synagro was authorized to initiate the operations of the facility on April 24, 2003.

The Pinellas County operation is now converting dewatered biosolids into a Class A fertilizer product (approximately 30 dry tons of Class A biosolids are produced daily) which will be marketed by Synagro and distributed for commercial and residential use under the Granulite brand name. Synagro currently markets over 150,000 tons of Class A (Exceptional Quality or EQ) pelletized biosolids annually. In Florida, they are termed Class AA biosolids, according to state regulations.

"We are very pleased to have this environmentally and technically advanced facility now operational and serving the residents of Pinellas County," said Ross M. Patten, Synagro's Chairman and CEO. "Pinellas County's state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility is providing a cleaner and more pleasant environment for the community and basically recycling the water, air and waste all under one roof," according to Patten.

"This is a world-class heat drying facility located within a world-class wastewater treatment plant. It is an excellent example of how public-private partnerships can be formed to address municipal biosolids management needs, environmental challenges and local community concerns," Patten said.

Florida Wastewater Facility Recycling More Than Biosolids

Pinellas County Utilities Director, Pick Talley explained, "The completion of the privatized heat drying operation by Synagro means that all of the wastewater residuals coming into the plant will be recycled. This includes reuse of all the 30 million gallons per day of reclaimed water, the methane gas generated during the digestion process that will fuel the biosolids drying operation, and the solids product sold to the local Florida fertilizer market."

According to Talley, "Today, the South Cross Bayou Water Reclamation Facility is one of the most sophisticated wastewater treatment facilities in the country. The social value of total recycling will make the plant a focal point of environmental education for the Pinellas County community of over one million people."

Pinellas County awarded Synagro a contract in 2001 to design, build and operate a municipal biosolids pelletizing facility using the state-of-the-art Andritz Drum Drying System which includes innovative processing features and a "good neighbor" design. The project utilizes the most environmentally and technologically advanced biosolids process currently available. Combined with partner company Andritz' now renowned Drum Drying System (DDS), the project enabled Pinellas County to build a facility that is invisible to the neighborhood and able to deliver treatment service at a reasonable cost to local residents.

Synagro is the largest national company focused on water and wastewater residuals management services in the United States, serving over 1,000 municipal and industrial water and wastewater generators in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The Houston-based company offers a range of water and wastewater residuals management services, focusing on the beneficial reuse of organic, nonhazardous residuals during the water and wastewater treatment process, including the treatment and conversion of sewage sludge into biosolids.

Synagro's residuals management services include collection and transportation, land application thermal drying and pelletization, incineration, composting, alkaline stabilization, dewatering, cleanout services, wastewater treatment plant operations and maintenance, product marketing, and related record keeping and regulatory reporting services.

Editors Note: For additional information on this project, contact Pick Talley, Pinellas County Utilities Director at [REDACTED-PHONE]; or Jim Rolston at [REDACTED-PHONE] of the Pinellas County Utilities Engineering Department.

For additional online information about Synagro Technologies Inc. contact www.synagro.com or call (800) 370-0035

Synagro Technologies Inc

http://http://www.synagro.com

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