THP Full steam ahead with Thermal Hydrolysis Process (THP)

Full steam ahead with Thermal Hydrolysis Process (THP)

Thermal hydrolysis is a process technology added into the course of wastewater treatment—a pre-treatment to anaerobic digestion.

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Truly diving into a One Water philosophy means treating wastewater as an opportunity, and less like an obligation. How can we get the most value? Enter THP.

One Water looks at the full water cycle—fresh water, wastewater, stormwater, and groundwater—to improve water sustainability and resiliency. The goal? To enable thriving economies and industries, community vitality, and healthy ecosystems.

Map showing all locations of Stantec's THP work in North America, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Stantec is an industry leader in THP with over 20 years of experience, including a resume of over 30 THP projects from around the world—more than any other consultant—and a successful history of optimizing and commissioning THP systems. We have supported the advancement of this technology since its debut in the solids treatment market.

Global best in class

Modern urban wastewater treatment plant.

Using heat and high pressure, sewage sludge or other wet organic waste is broken down, resulting in quick decompression. This “pressure cooking” produces more biodegradable product, allowing for better digestion and processing.

What is THP?

Where we come in

North America

Australia

New Zealand

United Kingdom

India

Basingstoke Advanced Anaerobic Digestion Facility

Basingstoke, United Kingdom

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Energy-positive plant fueling the community.

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Transforming special planning through digital delivery.

Minworth Wastewater Treatment Facility

Minworth (South Coldfield), United Kingdom

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Lab testing confirms aggressive pace and minimal downtime.

Seafield THP

Edinburgh, Scotland

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Revolutionizing the retrofit with the first Cambi B6 in the UK.

Crawley Advanced Digestion Project

Crawley, United Kingdom

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Intensifying treatment capabilities of the largest cold-weather BNR plant (Biological Nutrient Removal).

Bonnybrook WWTP Expansion

Alberta, Canada

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Making the case for THP upgrades, eliminating risk, plus significant savings.

Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus THP Pilot Study

Tennessee, United States

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Pioneering process trains generates environmental advances.

Piscataway WWTP Bio-Energy THP Project

Maryland, United States

Biogas

Explore THP technology and how it benefits wastewater treatment.

THP

How it works

Secondary Sedimentation

Biological Treatment

Primary Sedimentation

Headworks

Blended Raw Sludge

Tertiary Treatment

Cake Silo

Pre-dewatering

Imported Cake

Post-dewatering

Biosolids Transportation

Anaerobic Digester

Sidestream Treatment

Effluent

Gas Engine

Pulper

Reactors

Flash Tank

Steam Boiler

Electric generator

Boiler feed water

THP produces pathogen-free Class A biosolids that can be used as fertilizers to improve soil health, reduce landfill disposal and costs, plus reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints.

High-quality biosolids

With THP, wastewater treatment facilities can produce 60% of their own energy demand and 100% of heat necessary to fuel the facility.

Biogas production

Allows for higher loading rates at facilities and smaller digestion plants—saving upfront capital investment for other treatment works.

Asset optimization

THP significantly improves biodegradability of volatile solids—often up to 50%— reducing operational costs through easier anaerobic digestion.

Cost savings

With every resource recovery project, advancements and innovative solutions are made that improve bioenergy technologies’ efficiency, operability, and economic feasibility—a win for the utility, and most importantly, the environment. The best part? With this technology and our experience, it can be done today.

Why THP? Why now?

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The future of innovative wastewater engineering is now. We’re working towards a more sustainable future.

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Dewatered sludge is stored in a cake silo before it enters the pulper. In larger plants, there can be one silo per THP stream.

The cake silo can receive imported cake from other sites.

In the pulper, the sludge is pre-heated by recycled steam injected from the reactors and flash tank.

The pre-heated sludge is pumped into the reactor, where steam is injected to reach the required pressure and temperature.

After reaching the required retention time, sludge is transferred to the flash tank, where steam is released and recovered.

The hydrolized sludge is pumped from the flash tank through a cooler to the digester.

Biogas, mostly a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, is produced through anaerobic digestion.

With THP, biogas production increases, making it more economical to generate electricity with a gas engine.

Steam for the THP is produced in a waste-heat boiler using treated and exhaust gas from the gas engines.

Class A biosolids are produced, with applications as fertilizer for agriculture, forestry, and gardening.

Explore our THP projects across the world.