scholarly journals Impact of Alkalization of Surplus Activated Sludge on Biogas Production

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaudiusz Grűbel ◽  
Alicja Machnicka ◽  
Stanisław Wacławek
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Rate Limiting Step ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Biological Decomposition

Abstract Large amounts of sludge are produced in biological wastewater treatment plants. Since the sludge is highly contaminated, it has to undergo proper stabilization before it is disposed or utilized in an environmentally safe way. On the whole, the aim of bacterial cell disintegration is the release of cell contents in the form of an aqueous extract. Chemical disintegration of surplus activated sludge by alkalization results in destruction and disruption of the flocs and microorganisms as well as increase concentration of organic matter in supernatant. The mesophilic anaerobic sewage sludge digestion is an established process, most often applied at medium and large municipal sewage treatment plants. Four major steps of anaerobic digestion are distinguished. The first hydrolysis step leads to solubilization of insoluble particulate matter and biological decomposition of organic polymers to monomers or dimers. The hydrolysis step is recognized as the rate-limiting step of the following second and third steps, the processes of acidogenesis and acetogenesis. Chemical disintegration activates biological hydrolysis and, therefore, it can significantly increase the stabilization rate of the secondary sludge. It has been shown that when the activated sludge was subjected to alkalization to pH 9.0 value, the COD concentration increased from 101 to 530 mg/dm3 in sludge supernatant. The paper presents a potential application of chemical disintegration for sewage sludge (mainly activated sludge) to upgrading biogas production.

scholarly journals Possible Applications of Hardening Slurries with Fly Ash from Thermal Treatment of Municipal Sewage Sludge in Environmental Protection Structures

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Falacinski ◽  
Łukasz Szarek
Keyword(s):  
Fly Ash ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Thermal Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Combustion Products ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Municipal Sewage Sludge ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Coal Combustion Products ◽  
Environmentally Safe

Abstract In Poland, in recent years, there has been a rapid accumulation of sewage sludge - a by-product in the treatment of urban wastewater. This has come about as a result of infrastructure renewal, specifically, the construction of modern sewage treatment plants. The more stringent regulations and strategic goals adopted for modern sewage management have necessitated the application of modern engineering methodology for the disposal of sewage sludge. One approach is incineration. As a consequence, the amount of fly ash resulting from the thermal treatment of municipal sewage sludge has grown significantly. Hence, intensive work is in progress for environmentally safe management of this type of waste. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the possibility of using the fly ash that results from municipal sewage sludge thermal treatment (SSTT) as an additive to hardening slurries. This type of hardening slurry with various types of additives, e.g. coal combustion products, is used in the construction of cut-off walls in hydraulic structures. The article presents the technological and functional parameters of hardening slurries with an addition of fly ash obtained by SSTT. Moreover, the usefulness of these slurries is analysed on the basis of their basic properties, i.e. density, contractual viscosity, water separation, structural strength, volumetric density, hydraulic conductivity, compressive and tensile strength. The mandated requirements for slurries employed in the construction of cut-off walls in flood embankments are listed as a usefulness criteria. The article presents the potential uses of fly ash from SSTT in hardening slurry technology. It also suggests directions for further research to fully identify other potential uses of this by-product in this field.

scholarly journals Heavy metals partition between leachate and solids in the course of municipal sewage treatment

2019 ◽  
pp. 367-377
Author(s):  
Hanna Obarska-Pempkowiak ◽  
Wieslaw Butajlo ◽  
Janusz Pempkowiak
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Soil Fertilization ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Treated Sewage ◽  
Two Stages

Measurements of heavy metals contents (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) were carried out in liquid and solid fractions of sewage and sewage sludge after stabilization as well as dewatering. Investigation was carried out in municipal WWTP ,,Wschod" in Gdansk. The flow of sewage was equal to 88 000 m3 /d. The treatment consists of two stages: the first stage - mechanical (4screens, 2 sandtraps, 4 primary sedimentation tanks) and the second stage - advanced biological MUCT system (6 reactors - each incorporating the following chambers: dephosphatation, pre-denitrification, denitrification and nitrification followed by 2 secondary sedimentation tanks) modified by introduction of an additional chamber which secures dioxidation of sewage recirculated between nitrification and denitrification chambers. Sewage sludge (primary and secondary) is stabilized by fermentation. The last step of sludge utilization is mechanical dewatering. Samples of sewage were collected at the following points of the WWTP: at the beginning - raw sewage, mechanically treated sewage and biologically treated sewage. Samples of reject waters after thickening and after mechanical dewatering of sludge were collected too. The following types of sewage sludge were investigated: primary, secondary, thickened (on the Klein press), digested and mechanically dewatered (Noxon centrifuges). In the sampling points samples were collected twice per month during the 6 months period in the years 2000-2001. Inflowing sewage carried the following loads of heavy metals: Zn - 27.2 kg/d, Cu - 5.4 kg/d, Pb - 1.3 kg/d and Cd - 0.4 kg/d.  Basing on balances of heavy metals loads it was proved that 87.0% Zn and 83.0% Cu were kept in sludge. Among analysed sewage sludge samples, the highest contents of heavy metals was found in sludge after mechanical dewatering and in the mixture of primary and secondary sludge (Zn - 780.4 mg/kg d.m., Cu - 144.6 mg/kg d.m., Pb - 5.4 mg/kg d.m. and Cd - 2.4 mg/kg d.m. The contents of heavy metals in examined sludge were compared with Polish admissible loads of metals applied with sludge to soil fertilization. Basing on the findings, admissible loads of sewage sludge to agricultural land were not exceeded.

Behaviour of Alkylphenol Polyethoxylate Surfactants and of Nitrilotriacetate in Sewage Treatment

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 449-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Giger ◽  
M. Ahel ◽  
M. Koch ◽  
H. U. Laubscher ◽  
C. Schaffner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Loading Rates ◽  
Treatment Conditions ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Treated Sewage ◽  
Removal Efficiencies

Effluents and sludges from several municipal sewage treatment plants in Switzerland were analyzed for nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPnEO, n=3-20), nonylphenol mono- and diethoxylate (NPlEO, NP2EO), corresponding nonylphenoxy carboxylic acids (NP1EC, NP2EC) and nonylphenol (NP). These chemicals derive from nonionic surfactants of the NPnEO-type, and specific analitical techniques were used to study their behaviour during mechanical-biological sewage and subsequent sludge treatment. The parent NPnEO-surfactants, with concentrations in raw and mechanically treated sewage from 400-2200 mg/m3, were relatively efficiently removed by the activated sludge treatment. The abundances of the different metabolites varied depending on treatment conditions. The refractory nature of NPl/2EO, NP and NPl/2EC was recognized. Both biotransformations and physico-chemical processes determine the behaviour and fate of nonylphenolic substances in sewage treatment. Nitrilotriacetate (NTA) was found in primary effluents at concentrations between 430 and 1390 mg/m3. The various treatment plants showed different removal efficiencies for NTA depending on the operating conditions. Activated sludge treatment with low sludge loading rates and nitrifying conditions removed NTA with efficiencies between 95 and 99%. High sludge loading caused a decrease in NTA removal efficiencies from 70% to 39%.

Assessment of Environmental Quality of Soil Fertilized Grapefruit Trees with Municipal Sewage Sludge

2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 2736-2741
Author(s):  
Yin An Ming ◽  
Tao Tao
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Land Application ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Municipal Sewage Sludge ◽  
Limiting Factor

To reuse municipal sewage sludge safely, experiment was carried out on grapefruit trees fertilized with composted sludge from Shiweitou Sewage Treatment Plant in Xiamen City of China, and a method was introduced of how to assess the environmental quality of grapefruit trees soil fertilized with sludge by Set Pair Analysis (SPA) model. The results showed that the soil in the surface layer (0-15cm) and the deeper layer (15-30cm) was less clean, and the environment of soil was not polluted. Thus it was feasible to use sludge as fruit fertilizer. The maximum service life of sludge for continuous land application was estimated by taking Cd as the limiting factor, which would provide scientific guide and technical support for safe land application of sludge.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Feasibility of Using the Bacteriophage T4 Lysozyme to Improve the Hydrolysis and Biochemical Methane Potential of Secondary Sludge

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3644
Author(s):  
Sangmin Kim ◽  
Seung-Gyun Woo ◽  
Joonyeob Lee ◽  
Dae-Hee Lee ◽  
Seokhwan Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Cell ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Bacteriophage T4 ◽  
Suspended Solid ◽  
T4 Lysozyme ◽  
Biochemical Methane Potential ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Methane Potential

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of secondary sludge is a rate-limiting step due to the bacterial cell wall. In this study, experiments were performed to characterize secondary sludges from three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and to investigate the feasibility of using bacteriophage lysozymes to speed up AD by accelerating the degradation of bacterial cell walls. Protein was the main organic material (67.7% of volatile solids in the sludge). The bacteriophage T4 lysozyme (T4L) was tested for hydrolysis and biochemical methane potential. Variations in the volatile suspended solid (VSS) concentration and biogas production were monitored. The VSS reduction efficiencies by hydrolysis using T4L for 72 h increased and ranged from 17.8% to 26.4%. Biogas production using T4L treated sludges increased and biogas production was increased by as much as 82.4%. Biogas production rate also increased, and the average reaction rate coefficient of first-order kinetics was 0.56 ± 0.02/d, which was up to 47.5% higher compared to the untreated samples at the maximum. Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Sphingobacteriia were major microbial classes in all sludges. The interpretation of the microbial community structure indicated that T4L treatment is likely to increase the rate of cell wall digestion.

Thermochemical pretreatment in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tanaka ◽  
K. Kamiyama
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Thermochemical Pretreatment ◽  
Methane Production Rate

Effects of a thermochemical pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated by semicontinuously-fed digesters operated at 37¡C. WAS from a return sludge line of a municipal sewage treatment plant was pretreated by autoclaving at 130°C for 5 minutes after adding 0.3g NaOH/g VSS. Solids of WAS were thermochemically solubilized to one half and then 60% or more were in totality solubilized in anaerobic digesters fed with pretreated WAS at 2-8 days of hydraulic retention times (HRT), while only 16-36% were solubilized in digesters fed with raw WAS. The adverse effect of the set temperature (130°C) on the biodegradability of protein was not found. As a result, removal rates of COD in digestion was increased from 38% to 57% at 8 days HRT by the pretreatment. A specific methane production rate in the pretreated process was three times as high as the normal process. The thermochemical pretreatment was found to be very effective to enhance biodegradability as well as solubilization of WAS in anaerobic digestion.

scholarly journals MBR-Assisted VFAs Production from Excess Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Slurry for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Parchami ◽  
Steven Wainaina ◽  
Amir Mahboubi ◽  
David I’Ons ◽  
Mohammad J. Taherzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Ph Control ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Solids Concentration

The significant amount of excess sewage sludge (ESS) generated on a daily basis by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is mainly subjected to biogas production, as for other organic waste streams such as food waste slurry (FWS). However, these organic wastes can be further valorized by production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that have various applications such as the application as an external carbon source for the denitrification stage at a WWTP. In this study, an immersed membrane bioreactor set-up was proposed for the stable production and in situ recovery of clarified VFAs from ESS and FWS. The VFAs yields from ESS and FWS reached 0.38 and 0.34 gVFA/gVSadded, respectively, during a three-month operation period without pH control. The average flux during the stable VFAs production phase with the ESS was 5.53 L/m2/h while 16.18 L/m2/h was attained with FWS. Moreover, minimal flux deterioration was observed even during operation at maximum suspended solids concentration of 32 g/L, implying that the membrane bioreactors could potentially guarantee the required volumetric productivities. In addition, the techno-economic assessment of retrofitting the membrane-assisted VFAs production process in an actual WWTP estimated savings of up to 140 €/h for replacing 300 kg/h of methanol with VFAs.

scholarly journals The bottlenecks and causes, and potential solutions for municipal sewage treatment in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeshi Cao ◽  
M. C. M. Van Loosdrecht ◽  
Glen. T. Daigger
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Nutrient Removal ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Abstract Since about the 1990s China has achieved remarkable progress in urban sanitation. The country has built very extensive infrastructure for wastewater treatment, with 94.5% treatment coverage in urban areas and legally mandated nation-wide full nutrient removal implemented. However, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China are still confronted with issues rooted in the unique sewage characteristics. This study compares energy recovery, cost of nutrient removal and sludge production between Chinese municipal WWTPs and those in countries with longer wastewater treatment traditions, and highlights the cause-effect relationships between Chinese sewage characteristics – high inorganic suspended solids (ISS) loads, and low COD and C/N ratio, and municipal WWTP process performance in China. Integrated design and operation guidelines for municipal WWTPs are imperative in relation to the unique sewage characteristics in China. Cost-effective measures and solutions are proposed in the paper, and the potential benefits of improving the sustainability of municipal WWTPs in China are estimated.

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