Sludge Treatment And Reuse

(Subject area: Environmental Engineering)

Prepared by: Guided by:

Name: Sachin Kumar Mrs. Anjali Khabete

B. Tech IV (Civil) Prof., CED, SVNIT, Surat

Roll no:U06CE038

Year: 2009-10

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

S.V.NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

SURAT-395007
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that “Mr. Sachin Kumar” of

B Tech IV semester 7th has satisfactory completed his seminar

report on “Sludge Treatment and Reuse” during academic

year 2009 – 2010.

Signature of guide: Signature of:

Head of Department

DATE:11/11/09

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

S.V.NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

 SURAT-395007

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take opportunity to express my deep

sense of gratitude and indebtedness to “Prof. Anjali
Khambete” in Civil Engineering department, S.V.N.I.T, Surat
for her valuable guidance, useful comments and co-operation
with kind and encouraging attitude at all stages of the
experimental work for the successful completion of this work.

I am also thankful to S.V.N.I.T, Surat and

its staff for providing this opportunity which helped in gaining
knowledge and to make this Graduate report successful.

Thank You
Sachin Kumar
U06CE038
 Table of Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………..….1
Introduction
What is Sludge treatment……………………………………………..…1
Sludge treatment process
(i) Preliminary Treatment………………………………………………...2
(ii) Primary Treatment……………………………………………..……….3
(iii) Secondary or Biological Treatment………………………….….3
Digestion
(i) Anaerobic digestion…….……….………….…………………………3
(ii) Aerobic digestion…..…………………………………………………..4
(iii) Composting…….………………………………………………………….5
Benefits of sludge……………………………………………………………………………..6
Reuse of sludge…………………………………………………………………………………6
Thermal Depolymerisation………………………………………………………………..7
Disposal of sludge…………………………………………………………………………….8
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..9
References………………………………………………………………………………………10
ABSTRACT

SLUDGE TREATMENT IS THE PROCESSES USED TO MANAGE AND DISPOSE OF THE

SLUDGES PRODUCED DURING SEWAGE TREATMENT. IT IS VERY MUCH ESSENTIAL FOR
MAINTAINING ENVIRONMENTAL BALANCE. THIS REVIEW INCLUDES THE PROCESSES
INVOLVED IN THE TREATMENT OF SLUDGE, DIGESTION (ANAEROBIC DIGESTION,
AEROBIC DIGESTION AND COMPOSTING), BENEFITS OF SLUDGE TREATMENT, SLUDGE
REUSE AND HOW DISPOSAL OF SLUDGE WAS CARRIED OUT. SINCE WATER
CONSERVATION IS VERY ESSENTIAL IN INDIA, LONG-TERM PLANS SHOULD INCLUDE
CONSIDERATION OF USING NEW ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. SLUDGE DISPOSAL IS BIG
PROBLEM WHICH CAN BE EFFICIENTLY DEALT BY REUSING SLUDGE FOR DIFFERENT
PURPOSES LIKE IN AGRICULTURE. IT IS AN AREA OF WORK IN WHICH A LOT OF
RESEARCH IS GOING ON AND WILL SEE A LOT OF FURTHER DEVELOPMENT WHICH WILL
BE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY.

INTRODUCTION

Sludge is the residual, semi-solid material left from industrial, or wastewater treatment

processes. When fresh sewage or wastewater is added to a settling tank, approximately 50%
of the suspended solid matter will settle out in an hour and a half. This collection of solids is
known as raw sludge or primary solids and is said to be "fresh" before anaerobic processes
become active. The sludge will become putrescent in a short time once anaerobic bacteria take
over, and must be removed from the sedimentation tank before this happens.

This is accomplished in one of two ways. In an Imhoff tank, fresh sludge is passed through a
slot to the lower story or digestion chamber where it is decomposed by anaerobic bacteria,
resulting in liquefaction and reduced volume of the sludge. After digesting for an extended
period, the result is called "digested" sludge and may be disposed of by drying and then land
filling. More commonly with domestic sewage, the fresh sludge is continuously extracted
from the tank mechanically and passed to separate sludge digestion tanks that operate at
higher temperatures than the lower story of the Imhoff tank and, as a result, digest much more
rapidly and efficiently.

Excess solids from biological processes such as activated sludge may still be referred to as
sludge, but the term biosolids, is more commonly used to refer to the material, particularly
after further processing such as aerobic composting. Industrial wastewater solids are also
referred to as sludge, whether generated from biological or physical-chemical processes.
Surface water plants also generate sludge made up of solids removed from the raw water.

SLUDGE TREATMENT

Sewage sludge is produced from the treatment of wastewater and consists of two basic
forms — raw primary sludge (basically faecal material) and secondary sludge (a living
‘culture’ of organisms that help remove contaminants from wastewater before it is
returned to rivers or the sea). Sludge treatment described the processes used to manage
and dispose of the sludge produced during sewage treatment.

Sewage Treatment Process:-

Sewage can be treated in different ways. Treatment processes are often classified as:-
(i) Preliminary Treatment
(ii) Primary Treatment
(iii) Secondary or Biological Treatment
(iv) Complete final Treatment

(i) Preliminary Treatment

Preliminary treatment consists mainly in separating the floating materials and
Also the heavy settable inorganic solids.
The units adopted here are:-
(a) Screen Chamber
(b) Grit Chamber

(a) Screen Chamber:-

• Used for removing floating material like dead animals, tree branches,
Papers, plastics, pieces of rags, wood and other large - sized floating
Materials.
• Coarse and fine screens of different designs are used,
• BOD removal – 5 to 10 %.
• Suspended solids – 2 to 20% removal.

(b) Grit Chamber:-

• Used for removing heavy settable inorganic material like sand, small
Gavel, cinders, broken glass etc. present in sewage.
• BOD removal – 10 to 20%.
• Suspended solids – 20 to 40% removal

(ii) Primary Treatment:-

In primary treatment, primary clarifier or primary settling tank is considered to
remove suspended but settable organic material and BOD.
BOD removal – 30 to 35%
Suspended solids removal – 60 to 65%

(iii) Secondary or Biological Treatment

The secondary or Biological treatment is the most important treatment process for removal of
fine suspended non-settable solids and colloidal particles including dissolved organic matter.
Upto the primary treatment units, BOD removal achieved is upto 30 to 35%. For removal of
BOD upto 90 to 95%, Choice of secondary treatment unit is most important process in the
treatment of sewage.

The sludge is transformed into biosolids using a number of complex treatments. One of
the most common methods is Digestion. The more treated the wastewater the more toxic
the sludge.

Digestion

Much sludge is treated using a variety of digestion techniques, the purpose of which is to
reduce the amount of organic mater and the number of disease-causing microorganisms
present in the solids. The most common treatment options include anaerobic digestion,
aerobic digestion, and composting.

Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial process that is carried out in the absence of oxygen. The
process can either be thermophilic digestion in which sludge is fermented in tanks at a
temperature of 55°C or mesophilic, at a temperature of around 36°C. Though allowing shorter
retention time, thus smaller tanks, thermophilic digestion is more expensive in terms of energy
consumption for heating the sludge.
Anaerobic digestion generates biogas with a high proportion of methane that may be used to
both heat the tank and run engines or microturbines for other on-site processes. In large
treatment plants sufficient energy can be generated in this way to produce
more electricity than the machines require. The methane generation is a key advantage of the
anaerobic process. Its key disadvantage is the long time required for the process (up to 30
days) and the high capital cost.

Under laboratory conditions it is possible to directly generate useful amounts of electricity

from organic sludge using naturally occurring electrochemically active bacteria. Potentially,
this technique could lead to an ecologically positive form of power generation, but in order to
be effective such a microbial fuel cell must maximize the contact area between the effluent
and the bacteria-coated anode surface, which could severely hamper throughput.

Fig 1 Simple Anaerobic Digestion Process

Aerobic Digestion

Aerobic digestion is a bacterial process occurring in the presence of oxygen. Under aerobic

conditions, bacteria rapidly consume organic matter and convert it into carbon dioxide. Once
there is a lack of organic matter, bacteria die and are used as food by other bacteria. This stage
of the process is known as endogenous respiration. Solids reduction occurs in this phase.
Because the aerobic digestion occurs much faster than anaerobic digestion, the capital costs of
aerobic digestion are lower. However, the operating costs are characteristically much greater
for aerobic digestion because of energy costs for aeration needed to add oxygen to the
process.
 Fig.2 Aerobic Digestion Process

Composting

Composting is also an aerobic process that involves mixing the wastewater solids with sources
of carbon such as sawdust, straw or wood chips. In the presence of oxygen, bacteria digest
both the wastewater solids and the added carbon source and, in doing so, produce a large
amount of heat.

Both anaerobic and aerobic digestion processes can result in the destruction of disease-
causing microorganisms and parasites to a sufficient level to allow the resulting digested
solids to be safely applied to land used as a soil amendment material (with similar benefits
to peat) or used for agriculture as a fertilizer provided that levels of toxic constituents are
sufficiently low.

Fig.3 Composting of faecal Sludge

BENEFITS OF SLUDGE TREATMENT

The treatment process reduces the water content of the sludge. The basic principal is the
cleaner the water is after the sludge is removed, the more toxic the sludge is going to be. The
toxicity of the sludge will vary dependant on the source of the waste water. Varying
combinations of domestic and industrial customers will effect the composition of the sludge
collected. This has been proven when random samplings of treated sludge are found to be
filled with heavy metals, as well as chemical residues that are not removed by the treatment
process. The treatment process does not remove 100% of the pathogens, and in many cases
pathogen regrowth after spreading is significant.

SLUDGE REUSE

Fig.4 flow of sludge reuse

Raw sludge from activated sludge treatment plants has been applied directly onto agricultural
land particularly in the United Kingdom. This practice is considered unsatisfactory because of
the presence of pathogens in the sludge in high numbers. There has been no thorough study,
however, which has shown that there is an increase in the risk of acquiring illnesses associated
with pathogens in the raw sludge when proper handling procedure and non-entry to the land
following application is observed.

Reuse of composted sludge as a soil conditioner in agriculture and horticulture returns carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus and elements essential for plant growth back to the soil. Less chemical
fertilisers are required and the organic carbon helps to improve soil structure for soil aeration,
water percolation and root growth. The nitrogen and phosphorus are also released gradually
for plant uptake compared to the more soluble chemical fertilisers. The potential of leaching
of the nutrients to ground or surface water by rainfall run-off is much reduced. Pathogens and
heavy metals can, however, limit the reuse of sludge.

Pathogens should be reduced to levels that do not pose health hazards to workers handling the
sludge, potential health hazards from the spreading of helminth eggs and from horticultural
produce contaminated by pathogens. Composting of the sludge to attain a temperature of 55
oC for two weeks followed by windrow maturation produces compost that meets these
conditions. Stabilised sludge, which has been dewatered and dried on sand beds to attain a low
moisture content, can meet the same conditions.

Heavy metals and toxic chemicals are difficult to remove from sludge. Preventing these
chemicals from entering the wastewater or sludge should be the aim of wastewater
management for sludge intended for reuse in agriculture or horticulture. Reuse may still be
possible for purposes such as mine site rehabilitation, highway landscaping or for landfill
cover. Sludge that has been conditioned for reuse is called ‘biosolids’

Conversion of sludge, which is heavily contaminated by heavy metals or toxic chemicals, to

oil is technically feasible (Enersludge process). A full-scale plant is operating in Perth,
Western Australia (Bridle et al., 2000). The conversion is by a pyrolysis process, heating dried
sludge to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen or with a controlled amount of oxygen.
Capital and running costs of an oil from sludge process are high.

Thermal depolymerization

Thermal depolymerization uses hydrous pyrolysis to convert reduced complex organics to oil.

The premacerated, grit-reduced sludge is heated to 250οC and compressed to 40 MPa. The
hydrogen in the water inserts itself between chemical bonds in natural polymers such as fats,
proteins and cellulose. The oxygen of the water combines with carbon, hydrogen and metals.
The result is oil, light combustible gases such as methane, propane and butane, water with
soluble salts, carbon dioxide, and a small residue of inert insoluble material that resembles
powdered rock and char. All organisms and many organic toxins are destroyed. Inorganic salts
such as nitrates and phosphates remain in the water after treatment at sufficiently high levels
that further treatment is required.

The energy from decompressing the material is recovered, and the process heat and pressure is
usually powered from the light combustible gases. The oil is usually treated further to make a
refined useful light grade of oil, such as no. 2 diesel and no. 4 heating oil, and then sold.

The choice of a wastewater solid treatment method depends on the amount of solids generated
and other site-specific conditions. However, in general, composting is most often applied to
smaller-scale applications followed by aerobic digestion and then lastly anaerobic digestion
for the larger-scale municipal applications.

SLUDGE DISPOSAL
When a liquid sludge is produced, further treatment may be required to make it suitable for
final disposal. Typically, sludges are thickened (dewatered) to reduce the volumes transported
off-site for disposal. Processes for reducing water content include lagooning in drying beds to
produce a cake that can be applied to land or incinerated; pressing, where sludge is
mechanically filtered, often through cloth screens to produce a firm cake; and centrifugation
where the sludge is thickened by centrifugally separating the solid and liquid. Sludges can be
disposed of by liquid injection to land or by disposal in a landfill. There are concerns about
sludge incineration because of air pollutants in the emissions, along with the high cost of
supplemental fuel, making this a less attractive and less commonly constructed means of
sludge treatment and disposal. There is no process which completely eliminates the
requirements for disposal of biosolids.

In South Australia, after centrifugation, the sludge is then completely dried by sunlight. The
nutrient rich biosolids are then provided to farmers’ free-of-charge to use as a natural
fertilizer. This method has reduced the amount of landfill generated by the process each year.
Conclusion

Department responsible for sanitation and reuse must be organized with a clear mandate.
Government must find the financial means to make services and facilities viable and
sustainable. Wastewater reuse in agriculture requires appropriate legislation to regulate the
use of this resource, using quality standards appropriate to local conditions. If standards are
too strict, they are both costly and difficult to monitor. But serious consequences related to
human health, soil production and crop market potential are found if standards are lacking or
not properly enforced. Studies show that wastewater reuse is still at its early stages.
Additional research, training and information are needed.

REFERENCES

1. ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGIES in wastewater treatment for the

implementation of the UNEP GLOBAL PROGRAMME OF ACTION (GPA)  "GUIDANCE
ON MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER" in collaboration with Murdoch University
Environmental Technology Centre

2. DETAILED PROJECT REPORT ON SEWERAGE SYSTEM FOR VESU URBAN

SETTLEMENT OF SUDA AREA (GUJARAT) UNDER JN-NURM PROGRAMME
3. Surat Municipal Corporation, Drainage Department

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sludge_treatment