Alkaline thermal sludge hydrolysis

The waste activated sludge (WAS) treatment of wastewater produces excess sludge which needs further treatment prior to disposal or incineration. A reduction in the amount of excess sludge produced, and the increased dewaterability of the sludge are, therefore, subject of renewed attention and research. A lot of research covers the nature of the sludge solids and associated water. An improved dewaterability requires the disruption of the sludge cell structure. Previous investigations are reviewed in the paper. Thermal hydrolysis is recognized as having the best potential to meet the objectives and acid thermal hydrolysis is most frequently used, despite its serious drawbacks (corrosion, required post-neutralization, solubilization of heavy metals and phosphates, etc.). Alkaline thermal hydrolysis has been studied to a lesser extent, and is the subject of the detailed laboratory-scale research reported in this paper. After assessing the effect of monovalent/divalent cations (respectively, K(+)/Na(+) and Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)) on the sludge dewaterability, only the use of Ca(2+) appears to offer the best solution. The lesser effects of K(+), Na(+) and Mg(2+) confirm previous experimental findings.As a result of the experimental investigations, it can be concluded that alkaline thermal hydrolysis using Ca(OH)(2) is efficient in reducing the residual sludge amounts and in improving the dewaterability. The objectives are fully met at a temperature of 100 degrees C; at a pH approximately 10 and for a 60-min reaction time, where all pathogens are moreover killed. Under these optimum conditions, the rate of mechanical dewatering increases (the capillary suction time (CST) value is decreased from approximately 34s for the initial untreated sample to approximately 22s for the hydrolyzed sludge sample) and the amount of DS to be dewatered is reduced to approximately 60% of the initial untreated amount. The DS-content of the dewatered cake will be increased from 28 (untreated) to 46%.Finally, the mass and energy balances of a wastewater treatment plant with/without advanced sludge treatment (AST) are compared. The data clearly illustrate the benefits of using an alkaline AST-step in the system.     

Pilot-scale peroxidation (H2O2) of sewage sludge

Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants produce large amounts of sludge. This excess sludge is an inevitable drawback inherent to the waste activated sludge process. Both the reduction of the amount of sludge produced and improving its dewaterability are of paramount importance. Novel pre-treatment processes have been developed in order to improve sludge dewatering, handling and disposal. This paper discusses the oxidation process utilising the catalytic activation of H(2)O(2) by iron salts, referred to as Fenton's reagent. In previous work, the authors described the experimental laboratory results of H(2)O(2)-oxidation of thickened sludge. Based upon the optimum conditions obtained in these laboratory tests, pilot-scale experiments are conducted. Peroxidation under its optimum conditions, i.e. (i) through addition of 25 g H(2)O(2) kg(-1) DS (dry solids content), (ii) in the presence of 1.67 g Fe(2+)-ions kg(-1) DS, (iii) at pH 3, and (iv) at ambient temperature and pressure, significantly reduces the amounts of sludge and improves the product quality: the amount DS per equivalent inhabitant per day (DS/IE.d) was reduced from 60 to 33.1 g DS/IE.d and the percentage DS of the sludge cake was 47%, which is high compared with the 20-25% achieved in a traditional sludge dewatering facility. An economic assessment for a wastewater treatment plant of 300,000 IE confirms the benefits. Considering the fixed and variable costs and the savings obtained when the sludge is incinerated after dewatering, a net saving of approx. 950,000 Euro per year or 140 Euro per ton DS can be expected.     

OPTIMUM SELECTION AND OPERATION OF SLUDGE DEWATERING PROCESSES

The paper presents a life cycle costing model and a mathematical programming model to identify the least cost sludge dewatering process and the optimum polymer dose to be used for sludge dewatering, respectively. The life cycle costing model is based on an infinite horizon and it allows for incremental expansion in the capacities of the sludge dewatering process as demand rises. A new nonlinear formulation for the minimization of the combined costs of polymer dose and transportation is presented. These models were used for the selection of the least cost sludge dewatering process and the determination of the optimum polymer dose for two wastewater treatment plants in Kuwait. These formulations are generic and hence can be used for different types of sludge dewatering processes or polymers. Relationships have also been developed to assess the impact of distances to disposal or reuse site(s) from the wastewater treatment plant location on the optimum polymer dose.     

Advanced sludge treatment affects extracellular polymeric substances to improve activated sludge dewatering

The management of wastewater sludge, now often referred to as biosolids, accounts for a major portion of the cost of the wastewater treatment process and represents significant technical challenges. In many wastewater treatment facilities, the bottleneck of the sludge handling system is the dewatering operation. Advanced sludge treatment (AST) processes have been developed in order to improve sludge dewatering and to facilitate handling and ultimate disposal. The authors have extensively reported lab-scale, semi-pilot and pilot investigations on either thermal and thermochemical processes, or chemical oxidation using hydrogen peroxide. To understand the action of these advanced sludge technologies, the essential role played by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) needs to be understood. EPS form a highly hydrated biofilm matrix, in which the micro-organisms are embedded. Hence they are of considerable importance in the removal of pollutants from wastewater, in bioflocculation, in settling and in dewatering of activated sludge. The present paper reviews the characteristics of EPS and the influence of thermochemical and oxidation mechanisms on degradation and flocculation of EPS. Experimental investigations on waste activated sludge are conducted by the authors to evaluate the various literature findings. From the experiments, it is concluded that AST methods enhance cake dewaterability in two ways: (i) they degrade EPS proteins and polysaccharides reducing the EPS water retention properties; and (ii) they promote flocculation which reduces the amount of fine flocs.     

Hot acid hydrolysis as a potential treatment of thickened sewage sludge

Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants produce large amounts of sludge, containing organic and mineral components and being mechanically dewatered to e.g. 20-25% DS in centrifuges. Both the reduction of the amount of sludge produced and improving its dewaterability are hence of paramount importance. Hot acid hydrolysis can meet these objectives. The current paper describes the results of detailed investigations with respect to acid hydrolysis of thickened sludge (5-6% DS content). A comparison with traditional thermal hydrolysis is also included. As a result of the experimental investigations, it can be concluded that hot acid hydrolysis is efficient in both reducing the residual sludge amounts and improving the dewaterability. Under the proposed optimum conditions it is found that (i) the amount of hydrolysed DS is approximately 70% lower than the initial untreated amount, (ii) the DS-solid content of the dewatered cake is increased from 22.5% (initial untreated) to at least twice this value, (iii) the rate of mechanical dewatering is not significantly affected. The preferential release of ODS into the water phase, and the increased BOD/COD-ratio through hydrolysis, turn this recycle water phase into a possible carbon-source for nitrification/denitrification. Heavy metals and phosphates are also released in the water phase, and can be subsequently precipitated.     

Significance of chemical conditioning to improve dewaterability of biosludge generated from tanneries

To improve the dewaterability, biosludge generated from activated sludge process and membrane bioreactor operated for treatment of tannery wastewater was conditioned with Fenton’s reagent alone and Fenton’s reagent in conjunction with polyelectrolyte, respectively. Studies were carried out at an optimum pH of 3.0 with a fixed Fe²⁺ concentration of 3,000 mg/L. Hydrogen peroxide and polyelectrolyte dosages were varied for the sludge generated from membrane bioreactor and activated sludge process. Optimum dosages were ascertained for hydrogen peroxide and polyelectrolyte. Hydrogen peroxide dosage of 900 and 750 mg/L were observed as optimum for membrane bioreactor sludge and activated process sludge with respect to volume of settled sludge. Polyelectrolyte dosage of 7.5 mg/L for membrane bioreactor sludge and 5 mg/L for activated process sludge in conjunction with Fenton’s reagent was found to be the optimum with respect to volume of settled sludge. For the optimum dosage of Fenton’s reagent in conjunction with polyelectrolyte, results were compared with respect to capillary suction time and release of bound water.     

Enhancement of waste activated sludge dewaterability by electro-chemical pretreatment

The potential effects of electro-chemical conditioning on sludge dewatering treatments and its mechanism were investigated in this study. Capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) were used to evaluate sludge dewaterability. Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) content and sludge disintegration degree (DD(SCOD)) were also determined in an attempt to explain the observed changes in sludge dewaterability. The results indicated that application of considered low electrolysis voltages (<20 V) enhanced sludge dewaterability, while it exceeded 30 V, the dewaterability of sludge was significantly deteriorated. Also, electrolysis pretreatment slightly enhanced sludge dewaterability with short electrolysis time (<20 min), while it significantly deteriorated sludge dewaterability with long electrolysis time (>30 min). The optimal electrolysis voltage and electrolysis time to give preferable dewaterability characteristics were found to be 15-20 V, and 15-20 min, respectively, which generated sludge with optimal EPS content (15-20mg/L) and DD(SCOD) (1.3-2.0%).     

Enhancing the dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge using fibrous materials recovered from primary sludge: demonstration from a field study

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Sludge dewatering is an important process for determining the operation cost of sludge disposal. Hence, improving the dewaterability of anaerobically...     

有机高分子絮凝剂在污泥脱水中的应用

随着污泥成分的复杂化，与无机絮凝剂相比有机高分子絮凝剂展示出优异的脱水性能。文中阐述了近年来用于污泥脱水的各类有机高分子絮凝剂及其在污泥脱水中的最新应用研究、污泥脱水方法和影响污泥脱水性能的因素。对絮凝剂的选择和污泥处理方法进行总结，得出：(1)选择阳离子性基团总数大于阴离子性基团总数的一种或多种絮凝剂；(2)采用先加入含有阳离子(或阳离子性)基团的无机(或有机)絮凝剂，然后加入分子量较高的有机高分子絮凝剂(两性型、阳离子型、非离子型或阴离子型)的污泥脱水方法。     

Treatment of sewage sludge using electrokinetic geosynthetics

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is one of the most problematical issues affecting wastewater treatment in the developed world. The traditional outlets for sewage sludge are to spread it on agricultural land, or to form a cake for deposit to landfill or incineration. In order to create a sludge cake, water must be removed. Existing dewatering technology based on pressure can only remove a very limited amount of this water because of the way in which water is bound to the sludge particles or flocs. Several researchers have shown that electrokinetic dewatering of sludge is more efficient than conventional hydraulically driven methods. This involves the application of a dc voltage across the sludge, driving water under an electrical gradient from positive (anode) electrode to negative (cathode) electrode. However, there have been several reasons why this technique has not been adopted in practice, not least because the, normally metallic, anode rapidly dissolves due to the acidic environment created by the electrolysis of water. This paper will describe experimentation using electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG): polymer-based materials containing conducting elements. These have been used to minimise the problem of electrode corrosion and create a sludge treatment system that can produce dry solids contents in excess of 30%. It will suggest different options for the treatment of sludges both in situ in sludge lagoons and windrows, and ex situ as a treatment process.     

Study of hydrolysis and acidification process to minimize excess biomass production

In this paper, a new wastewater treatment process has been presented to minimize excess biomass production in which both excess sludge digestion and wastewater treatment are conducted simultaneously in the system. The process is modification of conventional activated sludge process with insertion of two facultative basins in the sludge return line. The excess biomass in the aeration tank is recirculated to the first facultative tank. It was observed that: (1) The amount of excess biomass is reduced to nearly aero when 5.95 g/day excess sludge is recirculated from the aeration tank to the first facultative tank at COD(Cr) loading of 2.31 kg/m(3)day. A biomass experiment of 1000 mg/L was maintained at 2.31 kg-COD(Cr)/m(3)day without drawing excess sludge for 6 months of experiment period. Inert organic substances did not seem to accumulate. The effluent quality has been well below the discharge limit. (2) On the basis of infrared spectroscopy proved that dye molecule in wastewater were firstly absorbed on the sludge, and then the bond energy of was gradually weakened and decomposed and eliminated lastly.     

Fenton peroxidation improves the drying performance of waste activated sludge

Advanced sludge treatment processes (AST) reduce the amount of sludge produced and improve the dewaterability, thus probably also affecting the heat transfer properties and the drying characteristics of the sludge. This paper studies the influence of the Fenton peroxidation on the thermal conductivity of the sludge. Results demonstrate that the Fenton's peroxidation positively influences the sludge cake consistency and hence enhances the mechanical dewaterability and the drying characteristics of the dewatered sludge. For the two sludges used in this study, i.e. obtained from the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) of Tienen and Sint-Niklaas--the dry solids content of the mechanically dewatered sludge increased from 22.5% to 40.3% and from 18.7% to 35.2%, respectively. The effective thermal conductivity k(e) of the untreated and the peroxidized sludges is measured and used to determine the heat transfer coefficient h(s). An average improvement for k(e) of 16.7% (Tienen) and 5.8% (Sint-Niklaas) was observed. Consequently the value of h(s) increased with 15.6% (Tienen) and 5.0% (Sint-Niklaas). This increased heat transfer coefficient in combination with the increased dewaterability has direct implications on the design of sludge dryers. A plate-to-plate calculation of a multiple hearth dryer illustrates that the number of plates required to dry the peroxidized sludge to 90% DS is less than half the number of plates needed to dry untreated sludge. This results in reduced dryer dimensions or a higher capacity for an existing dryer of given dimensions.     

Effects of ultrasonic disintegration on sludge microbial activity and dewaterability

Ultrasonic treatment can disintegrate sludge, enhance microbial activity and improve sludge dewaterability at different energy inputs. To find their relationship, the three phenomena during ultrasonic treatment were investigated synchronously, and an experimental model was established to describe the process of ultrasonic sludge disintegration. Analysis results showed that the changes of sludge microbial activity and dewaterability were dependent on sludge disintegration degree during ultrasonic treatment. When sludge disintegration degree was lower than 20%, sludge flocs were disintegrated into micro-floc aggregates and the microbial activity increased over 20%. When sludge disintegration degree was over 40%, most cells were destroyed at different degree, and sludge activity decreased drastically. Only when sludge disintegration degree was 2-5%, sludge dewaterability was improved with the conditioning of FeCl(3). It was also found that the sonication with low density and long duration was more efficient than sonication with high density and short duration at the same energy input for sludge disintegration, and a transmutative power function model can be used to describe the process of ultrasonic disintegration.     

CO2共聚物为基聚氨酯泡沫体与弹性体降解性能的比较研究

讨论以高分子负载的双金属(PBM)催化剂合成的CO2共聚物——聚碳酸亚乙酯(PEC)为基的聚氨酯泡沫体在活性污泥和70 ℃加热水解条件下的降解性能,并与聚碳酸亚乙酯-聚氨酯弹性体的降解性进行了比较。结果表明,这种泡沫体材料的降解速度远大于其弹性体的降解速度。     

剩余活性污泥的超声脱水及破解

文章从静态和动态研究了剩余活性污泥的超声脱水及污泥的破解。静态下,污泥的脱水应在低功率(以50W为例)短时间(7min)内进行,最高的脱水率(相对于未超声而言)可增加近16%;污泥破解应在高功率长时间下进行,本实验在250W的功率下连续处理20min,COD的增加值达到近1600mg/L;污泥的破解满足一级反应动力学。动态下,以低功率(50W)为例,脱水及破解曲线都比较平坦,污泥的总脱水率相对于未超声而言增加可达近23%;COD的增加值近似达1800mg/L。通过比较低功率下实验,动态实验效果明显优于静态实验。     

MBR在石化工业区综合污水处理中的应用

膜生物反应器是将膜分离技术与传统生化处理技术相结合的一种新型、高效的污水处理方法,具有出水水质好、设备占地面积小、活性污泥浓度高、剩余污泥量少等特点.通过对某污水处理厂选用MBR工艺处理石化区综合污水的成功运行进行分析和讨论,既指出此工艺的优势也对其存在的问题进行了分析.     

Effect of chemical composition on the flocculation dynamics of latex-based synthetic activated sludge

This study investigates the effect of calcium, alginate, fibrous cellulose, and pH on the flocculation dynamics and final properties of synthetic activated sludges. A laboratory-scale batch reactor, fed with standard synthetic sludges was used. The effects of varying calcium concentration (5-25 mM), alginate concentration (25-125 mg/L), fibrous cellulose concentration (0.2-0.8 g/L) and pH (3-9) on the sludge characteristics were studied by varying one parameter whilst keeping the others constant. The results from experiments indicated that the calcium, alginate, fibrous cellulose, and pH had the critical effect on the aggregation rate, flocs size, and made the improvement of the final properties of sludge. Dynamic measurements have established the optimum conditions for floc formation and can accurately reflect the state of formation of the synthetic activated sludge flocs. These correlate well with measurements of settleability and turbidity of the synthetic activated sludge. The results of this study support the bonding theory and indicate that formation of cations-polymer complexes and polymer gelation are important means of flocculation. The development of synthetic activated sludges is suggested also to be a possible surrogate for studying the final properties of activated sludge.     

Optimization of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by excess activated sludge and microbial community analysis

In this study, a high value-added and biodegradable thermoplastic, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), was produced by excess activated sludge. The effects of the nutritional condition, aeration mode, sodium acetate concentration and initial pH value on PHB accumulation in the activated sludge were investigated. The maximum PHB content and PHB yield of 67.0% (dry cell weight) and 0.740gCODgCOD(-1) (COD: chemical oxygen demand), respectively, were attained by the sludge in the presence of 6.0gL(-1) sodium acetate, with an initial pH value of 7.0 and intermittent aeration. The analysis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient-gel-electrophoresis (DGGE) sequencing indicated that the microbial community of the sludge was significantly different during the process of PHB accumulation. Three PHB-accumulating microorganisms, which were affiliated with the Thauera, Dechloromonas and Competibacter lineages, were found in the excess activated sludge under different operating conditions for PHB accumulation.     

Use of Optical Monitoring to Assess the Breakage of Activated Sludge Flocs

Optical monitoring with a charge-coupled device camera was used to assess the breakage of activated sludge flocs obtained from three different activated sludge plants: two municipal and one industrial. In this method, the samples were processed through the imaging unit and recycled back to a beaker using a centrifugal pump which causes the breakage of flocs together with hydrodynamics forces. Based on the image analysis results, the breakage models of the activated sludge flocs vary between the plants. The major breakage model in the two municipal plants was surface erosion whereas it was large-scale fragmentation in the industrial plant. A larger amount of filaments in the industrial plant most likely caused the large-scale fragmentation. Furthermore, the effect of the addition of a cationic polymer on the strength of activated sludge floc was studied in one sample. When the cationic polymer was used, the flocs started to grow at the start of the breakage process. However, they broke up at the end of the process and remained small, as found in flocs not exposed to any chemical treatment. Based on the results, the optical monitoring seems to be suitable for analyzing the breakage of flocs.     

Experimental Study on the Influence of Selected Process Variables on the Separation of a Fine Particle Suspension with a Pilot Scale Decanter Centrifuge

Decanter centrifuges are used widely in the chemical and process industries for dewatering and classification of solid-liquid suspensions. The most important applications of this class of centrifuges are found in wastewater sludge treatment and in pigment production. The objective of this study was to investigate the operation of a pilot scale decanter centrifuge in a challenging dewatering application. Dewatering tests were performed using fine-particle slurries consisting of water and various concentrations of kaolin. In addition to the solid concentration of the feed, the feed rate of the suspension and the differential speed between the bowl and the conveyer screw were also chosen as variables. The experimental conditions were selected according to a factorial test design and the responses monitored included the production capacity (productivity) of the decanter, the solid contents of the cake and the centrate, as well as the time that was required for the stabilization of the test unit. The results obtained clearly showed that the studied variables have a significant influence on the performance of the dewatering process. The variables were also able to explain the dewatering results at a high level of statistical significance. The repeatability of the experiments was, in most cases, good: On average, the relative standard deviations for the productivity and the solid contents of the cake were 6.0% and 0.5%. It was also apparent that random variations in the feed conditions may have a remarkable and long-lasting impact on the operation of the centrifuge.