FilaChar® for Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment facilities generate significant volumes of screening waste – fibrous material removed from incoming wastewater during treatment. This material is typically stored in skips and sent to landfill, creating increasing disposal costs, environmental impacts, and operational challenges for wastewater utilities.
At the same time, wastewater treatment plants face growing pressure to improve process efficiency, manage odours, reduce energy consumption, and meet tightening environmental standards.
FilaChar® offers a new circular solution.
What is FilaChar®?
FilaChar® is a patent-pending carbon-rich biochar material produced from wastewater screening waste. By converting this underutilised biomass into biochar, FilaChar® transforms a difficult waste stream into a valuable treatment material.
In addition to diverting waste from landfill, FilaChar® acts as a long-term carbon sink, permanently sequestering up to three tonnes of CO₂ for every tonne of biochar produced.
Benefits for Wastewater Treatment
Early trials and research indicate that FilaChar® can support several key improvements within wastewater treatment processes:
- Odour reduction within wastewater systems
- Enhanced pollutant removal from wastewater
- Improved sewage sludge settling characteristics
- Optimised activated sludge performance
- Reduced reliance on inefficient aeration, lowering energy demand
- Lower disposal costs for screening waste
These improvements have the potential to address operational challenges that can increase wastewater treatment operating costs by more than 5%.
Circular Carbon Innovation
Currently, screening waste is rarely recycled due to quality and hygiene constraints within traditional recycling streams such as paper manufacturing. FilaChar® creates a new upcycling pathway for this growing waste stream.
By converting screening waste into biochar, the process:
Diverts waste from landfill
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Creates a valuable material for wastewater treatment
Supports circular resource use within the water industry
Developed with Scottish Water
Carbogenics is working closely with Scottish Water to develop and validate the use of FilaChar® within wastewater treatment environments.
Through testing at Scottish Water’s Bo’ness facility, we are continuing to evaluate:
- Large-scale processing of screening waste into FilaChar®
- Performance in real wastewater treatment systems
- Environmental safety and leaching behaviour
- Pathways for regulatory approval and commercial deployment
This collaboration ensures that FilaChar® is being developed in close partnership with the industry it is designed to serve.
The Future of Screening Waste
FilaChar® demonstrates how wastewater treatment plants can transform a costly waste stream into a valuable resource for improving treatment performance and reducing environmental impact.
As development continues with industry partners, Carbogenics is working to bring FilaChar® to wastewater utilities seeking sustainable, circular and cost-effective treatment solutions.
If you are interested to learn more about this solution please contact us at info@carbogenics.com
Not sure which benefit matters most?
Our team can help you assess where FilaChar® delivers the most value.