Study on the Efficiency of On-Site Sludge Reduction Using Ti/SnO2-Sb and Ti/RuO2-IrO2 Electrodes Based on a Cell Lysis-Cryptic Growth System

The present study investigated the parameters and the mechanism of action of electrochemical cell lysis to reduce the return sludge from secondary settlers based on the theory of cell lysis-cryptic growth. The factors influencing the functioning of two electrodes (Ti/SnO2-Sb and Ti/RuO2-IrO2) were investigated to determine the optimal cell lysis parameters for each electrode, and the effects of the two electrodes on cell lysis were compared under these conditions. Finally, the Ti/SnO2-Sb electrode was selected for the subsequent experiments. The electrolysis reaction was performed using the following parameters: the initial sludge concentration was 7000 mg/L, the working voltage was 18 V, the plate spacing was 1 cm, the initial pH was 6.8 to 7.0, and the electrolysis duration was 90 min. The degree of disintegration of the sludge and the cell lysis rate reached 25.35% and 20.15%, respectively. In summary, electrochemical cell lysis has a good prospect for sludge reduction.