Feasibility Study of Using Water Treatment Plant Sludge to Improve the Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Thickening Process

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of water and wastewater engineering, Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The issue of optimal disposal of sludge in water treatment plants is among the important issues in line with the principles and goals of sustainable development. In this study, the possibility of applying activated carbon and water treatment sludge with the purpose of reducing the consumption of cationic polyelectrolytes in the thickening stage of wastewater treatment sludge on a laboratory pilot scale was investigated. For this purpose, the effect of these additives on SVI, TTF, DS, pH, and the dosage of polyelectrolytes used was evaluated. SVI and TTF of conditioned sludge at a dose of 300 mg/g along with 1 mg/l of cationic polyelectrolyte decreased to less than 100 ml/g and 100 s-1, respectively, and also increased the amount of sewage sludge solids to at least 5%. Large flocs formation, particles size distribution change, and increasing the porosity of the sludge have become as a result of adding the conditioning materials, and facilitating the thickening and releasing of free water. In addition to improving the efficiency of sewage sludge thickening, these industrial wastes reduce polyelectrolyte consumption by 50%, protecting the environment from the negative impacts of their disposal.

Keywords


  1. APHA (2012). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater( 22nd edition). Washington D.C, American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environment Federation (WEF)
  2. Gobena, B., Adela, Y., Serbessa, G. G., & Alemayehu, E. (2020). Evaluation of Residual Al3+ and Fe3+ Concentration in Blended Alum-Ferric Chloride Coagulant Use. Int J Water Wastewater Treat, 6(3).
  3. Carleton, G., H. Al daach and T. J. Cutright (2020). "Laboratory evaluation of alum, ferric and ferrous-water treatment residuals for removing phosphorous from surface water." Heliyon. 6(8), e04681.
  4. Chen, C., Q. Xiong, S. J. Jiang, Y. Q. Dong and H. B. Hou (2019). "Effect of rice husk flour size on sewage sludge dewaterability during composite conditioning with persulfate." Desalination and Water Treatment. 168, 340-347.
  5. Cho, K. W., C. M. Chung, Y. J. Kim and T. H. Chung (2010). "Continuous clarification and thickening of activated sludge by electrolytic bubbles under control of scale deposition." Bioresource Technology. 101(9), 2945-2951.
  6. Collard, M., B. Teychené and L. Lemée (2017). "Comparison of three different wastewater sludge and their respective drying processes: Solar, thermal and reed beds – Impact on organic matter characteristics." Journal of Environmental Management. 203, 760-767.
  7. Epa (1993). "Biosolids Laws and Regulations." (Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage): 2015-2015.
  8. Farhat, S., F. Kamel, Y. Jedoui and M. Kallel (2012). "The relation between the RO fouling membrane and the feed water quality and the pretreatment in Djerba Island plant." Desalination 286: 412-416.
  9. Garlicka, A., M. Zubrowska-Sudol, K. Umiejewska, O. Roubinek, J. Palige and A. Chmielewski (2020). "Effects of thickened excess sludge pre-treatment using hydrodynamic cavitation for anaerobic digestion." Energies. 13(10), 2483.
  10. Guo, J., S. Jiang and Y. Pang (2019). "Rice straw biochar modified by aluminum chloride enhances the dewatering of the sludge from municipal sewage treatment plant." Science of the Total Environment. 654, 338-344.
  11. Guo, Z., L. Ma, Q. Dai, R. Ao, H. Liu, Y. Wei and L. Mu (2020). "Role of extracellular polymeric substances in sludge dewatering under modified corn-core powder and sludge-based biochar pretreatments." Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 202, 110882.
  12. Guo, Z., L. Ma, Q. Dai, J. Yang, R. Ao and L. Wang (2019). "Dewatering performance of sewage sludge under pretreatment with modified corn-core powder." Science of the Total Environment. 684, 402-412.
  13. Hosseinlou, R. and A. Taebi (2010). "Comparison of influence of walnut shell, clay and powdered activated carbon on settleability of activated sludge." Journal of Environmental Studies. 63-70.
  14. Joseph-Soly, S., T. Saldanha, A. Nosrati, W. Skinner and J. Addai-Mensah (2019). "Improved dewatering of clay rich mineral dispersions using recyclable superabsorbent polymers." Chemical Engineering Research and Design. 142, 78-86.
  15. Kapp, H. (1984). "Sludge Thickening Prior to Anaerobic Digestion." Water Science and Technology 16(12): 419-432.
  16. Lawler, D. F., Y. J. Chung, S. J. Hwang and B. A. Hull (1986). "Anaerobic Digestion: Effects on Particle Size and Dewaterability." Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation. 1107-1117.
  17. Likus, M., M. Komorowska-Kaufman, A. Pruss, Ł. Zych and T. Bajda (2021). "Iron-based water treatment residuals: Phase, physicochemical characterization, and textural properties." Materials. 14(14), 3938.
  18. Masihi, H. and G. Badalians Gholikandi (2020). "Using acidic-modified bentonite for anaerobically digested sludge conditioning and dewatering." Chemosphere. 241, 125096.
  19. Puchajda, B. and J. Oleszkiewicz (2008). "Impact of sludge thickening on energy recovery from anaerobic digestion." Water Science and Technology. 57(3), 395-401.
  20. Qi, Y., Thapa, K. B., & Hoadley, A. F. (2011). Application of filtration aids for improving sludge dewatering properties–a review. Chemical Engineering Journal, 171(2), 373-384.
  21. Rahmani, A. R., D. Nematollahi, K. Godini and G. Azarian (2013). "Continuous thickening of activated sludge by electro-flotation." Separation and Purification Technology. 107, 166-171.
  22. Saqib, A. N. S., Waseem, A., Khan, A. F., Mahmood, Q., Khan, A., Habib, A., & Khan, A. R. (2013). Arsenic bioremediation by low cost materials derived from Blue Pine (Pinus wallichiana) and Walnut (Juglans regia). Ecological Engineering, 51, 88-94.
  23. Turovskiy, I. S., & Mathai, P. K. (2006). Wastewater sludge processing. John Wiley & Sons.
  24. Black, Crow, Eidsness, & United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Technology Transfer. (1974). Process design manual for sludge treatment and disposal. US Environmental Protection Agency, Technology Transfer.
  25. Wang, S., Yang, Y. K., Chen, X. G., Lv, J. Z., & Li, J. (2017). Effects of bamboo powder and rice husk powder conditioners on sludge dewatering and filtrate quality. International biodeterioration & biodegradation, 124, 288-296.
  26. Wójcik, M. (2020). Investigation of filtration properties and microbiological characteristics of sewage sludge after physical conditioning with the use of ground walnut shells. Powder Technology, 361, 491-498.
  27. Wu, B., Dai, X. and Chai, X., (2020). Critical review on dewatering of sewage sludge: Influential mechanism, conditioning technologies and implications to sludge re-utilizations. Water research, 180, p.115912.
  28. Wu, Y., Zhang, P., Zhang, H., Zeng, G., Liu, J., Ye, J., ... & Gou, X. (2016). Possibility of sludge conditioning and dewatering with rice husk biochar modified by ferric chloride. Bioresource Technology, 205, 258-263.
  29. Yi, X., Zhong, H., Xie, M. and Wang, X., (2021). A novel forward osmosis reactor assisted with microfiltration for deep thickening waste activated sludge: performance and implication. Water Research, 195, p.116998.
  30. Zhang, Q., Hu, J., Lee, D. J., Chang, Y., & Lee, Y. J. (2017). Sludge treatment: current research trends. Bioresource technology, 243, 1159-1172.
  31. Zhang, X., Kang, H., Zhang, Q., Hao, X., Han, X., Zhang, W., & Jiao, T. (2019). The porous structure effects of skeleton builders in sustainable sludge dewatering process. Journal of environmental management, 230, 14-20.
  32. Zhao, L., Z. Liu, F. Soyekwo, C. Liu, Y. Hu and Q. J. Niu (2022). "Exploring the feasibility of novel double-skinned forward osmosis membranes with higher flux and superior anti-fouling properties for sludge thickening." Desalination 523: 115410-115410.
  33. Zhu, C., F. Li, P. Zhang, J. Ye, P. Lu and H. Wang (2018). "Combined sludge conditioning with NaCl-cationic polyacrylamide-rice husk powders to improve sludge dewaterability." Powder Technology 336: 191-198.