Progressive design-build delivers a high-risk, high-reward bioenergy facility
May 09, 2025
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Joe Uglevich and David Socha talk to Informed Infrastructure about the technically sophisticated Piscataway Bioenergy Facility
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The $271 million Piscataway Bioenergy Facility in Prince George¡¯s County, Maryland, (part of the Washington, DC, metro area) is one of the most technically sophisticated sewage facilities ever completed in the United States. It¡¯s only the seventh facility in the United States to implement thermal hydrolysis, a two-stage process that treats sludge with high-pressure boiling and then releases pressure rapidly to break down microorganism cell walls and kill pathogens, creating Class A biosolids that are safe for land use (fertilizer).
The facility also uses an advanced combined heat and power (CHP) system and anaerobic digestion combined with wash water treatment technology to produce and treat biogases (including methane). The gases are converted into renewable natural gas, which is partly used to heat and power the facility and partly sold on to power Montgomery County¡¯s Ride On bus fleet. The fertilizer and biogas are a revenue stream for WSSC Water, projected to deliver $4 million in annual revenue, as well as a cost cutter that will save WSSC Water customers $3.4 million annually in operating costs. As it scales up, Piscataway will collect and process biosolids from all five of WSSC Water¡¯s treatment facilities and potentially accept trucked-in biosolids from other regional sites.
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-
Joe is director of our project delivery group within the Water sector, which focuses on the delivery of strategic projects.
Contact Joe -
David is North American leader for the Process Mechanical discipline in Water and has responsibilities as discipline or technical lead on projects. His work has an emphasis on large alternative delivery projects involving thermal hydrolysis plants.
Contact David
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