Doha North ponders sludge incineration

Salhi said that long-term plans also entail delivering treated sewage effluent to new potential users in Qatar.

"We are looking into an incinerator scheme for the sludge," Salhi said. "We have not yet decided which way to go, but we hope to make a decision this month or next."

He said Doha North is considering a zero-fuel technology which will use sewage sludge instead of gas to generate the treatment plant's power. Doha North is projected to produce 200 tonnes a day of sludge which will be supplemented by small amounts trucked in from the Doha South sewage treatment plant.

Salhi said that Doha North has identified uses for all its initial treated effluent of 127,000 cubic metres a day. "But by 2030, treated effluent production will rise to more than 300,000 cubic metres and we will have a daily surplus of 124,000 cubic metres. We shall produce very good quality effluent so it can be used by other industries like district cooling and cement."

The 245,000 cubic-metre-day Doha North plant is designed to meet the needs of the northern suburbs of Qatar's capital as well as new developments in the area include the Pearl. It is being built in a series of contracts that will all be awarded by the start of 2008. The main contractor for the sewage treatment works is Keppel of Singapore.

By Edmund O'Sullivan