Experimental study on vacuum preloading consolidation of landfill sludge conditioned by Fenton's reagent under varying filter pore size

In view of the deep dewatering of landfill sludge (LS) that had been buried for more than ten years in Shanghai, Fenton's reagent combined with a vacuum preloading method was proposed. First, a vacuum filtration test was carried out to study the optimal amount of Fenton's reagent for LS. Then, four filter membranes with different pore sizes were used for a vacuum preloading model box test to study the influence of pore size on the consolidation behaviour of LS. Through particle analysis, SEM and MIP testing, the consolidation behaviour of sludge under different pore sizes was studied from the microscopic perspective. The results show the following: the optimal amount of Fenton's reagent for conditioning LS is Fe²⁺ 4%, H₂O₂ 12%; the water content of LS with different pore sizes is reduced from 73% to 56%–63%; the unconfined compressive strength is increased from 10 kPa to above 80 kPa; and the volume reduction ratio is approximately 50%, among which the filter pore size of 180-μm has the best performance. The micro-test results show that the pore size of the filter membrane has an important influence on LS's consolidation. The research results can provide significant references for the in-situ treatment of LS.