SLUDGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL

CONTENTS

 SLUDGE CHARACTERISTICS
 SLUDGE THICKENING
 SLUDGE DIGESTION
 SLUDGE DISPOSAL
 SLUDGE

 Sludge is the concentrated impurities of waste water

into solid form
 Settleable
Suspended
Dissolved
Wastewater Pre Suspended
Organic Treatment Dissolved
Effluent
Inorganic

Secondary
Primary
Rock
Grit
Clarifier Secondary
Plastic Clarifier
Etc.
 SLUDGE CHARACTERISTICS

 Primary settling remove the settleable fraction of raw

wastewater solids , the quantity of this solid on the
dry mass basis can be determined as:-

Mp = ᶓ *SS * Q
Where Mp= mass of primary solids;kg/d
ᶓ = efficiency of primary clarifier
SS=total suspended solids in effluent
Q = flow rate ; m3/d
 Secondary sludge is composed primarily of biological
solids , the quantity of which can be estimated by:-

Ms= Y × BOD 5× Q
Where Ms = mass of secondary solids , kg/d
Y = biomass conversion factor
BOD5 =BOD5 removed by secondary treatment
kg/m3
Q = flow rate , m3/d
 CHARACTERISTICS

 Specific gravity :- sludge have specific gravity of 1.0

 Solid concentration:- it defines the relative fracction

of solids and liquids in a slurry and expressed as
mg/l
 SLUDGE THICKENING

 Thickening is a procedure used to increase the solid

content of sludge by removing a portion of the liquid
fraction
 Thickening is generally acomplished by physical
means including gravity settling , flotation ,
centrifugation etc
 Location of the thickener in a wastewater treatment
plant is important.
 A thickener operates like a settling tank
 The feed enters from the middle , are distributed
radially
 The settled sludge is collected from the underflow
 The effluent exits over the weirs
 The thickening process takes place in settling tank
with long enough solids retention time
GRAVITY THICKENER
 Gravity thickeners contain pickets on the scraper
cause a horizontal agitation .
 It helps to release water trapped in the flocculent
structure of the sludge
 These are commonly used when suspended culture
system sludges are to be thickened
 These thickeners have ability to double the solid
content of the sludge
 SLUDGE DIGESTION

 Sludge digestion serves both to reduce the volume of

the thickened sludge still further and to render the
remaining solids and relatively reduce pathogen

 These goals can be achieved by :-

Anaerobic digestion
Aerobic digestion
 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

 Anaerobic digestion is the most common method for

dealing with the waste water containing primary
sludge
 The principle function is to convert as much of the
sludge as possible to end products such as liquid and
gases
 Very less residual biomass as possible is produced
 11

 The anaerobic sludge digestion often divides the

organisms into broad groups :-
 Acid formers
 Methane formers
 ACID FORMERS

 The acid formers consist of facultative and anaerobic

bacteria and include organisms that solubilize the
organic solids through hydrolysis

 The soluble products are then fermented to acids and

alcohols of low molecular weight
 METHANE FORMERS

 Methane formers consist of strict anaerobic bacteria

 Acids and alcohols along with hydrogen and carbon

dioxide are converted to methane
Pathway and products of anaerobic digestion
 Sludge is fed into the digestor on an intermittent
basis and supernatant is withdrawn and returned to
secondary treatment unit
 A typical standard rate anaerobic digester consisting
of a single – stage operation
 The conical bottom facilitates sludge withdrawal
 Floating cover accommodate volume change due to
sludge addition or withdrawl
 Sludge separates in the reactor
 Although some mixing occur in the zone of active
digestion and in the supernatant
 HIGH RATE DIGESTERS

 These are more efficient

 Require less volume
 The contents are mechanicaly mixed to ensure better
contact between the organics and the
microorganisms
 Unit is heated to increase the metabolic rate of the
microorganisms
 Optimum tempurature is around 35̊ C
 Little gas is generated in the second stage
 But the second stage is covered and is equipped for
gas recovery
 The second stage reactor is not heated
 ADVANTAGES

 Waste stabilisation
 Odour reduction
 Scalable technology
 Low capital cost
 Fuel based renewable/pack generation
 DISADVANTAGES

 No useful byproduct
 Required expertise
 Affected by changes in loading and conditions
 AEROBIC DIGESTION

 This process is essentially a continuation of the

aeration process , with the volume being reduced by
thickening in the secondary clarifier and sludge
thickener
 It is an endogenous respiration process
 ADVANTAGES

 The process is easy to control

 It usually has lower ammonia concentration
 Explosive gases are not produced
 DISADVANTAGES

 Aerobic digestion is energy consumptive

 Temperature dependent
 Aerobic digestion does not produce energy
 SLUDGE DISPOSAL

 Several options are available for the ultimate

disposal of wastewater sludges, these include:-
 Incineration
 Placement in sanitary landfill
 Incorporation into as a fertilizer
 INCINERATION

 Combustion process
 PLACEMENT IN SANITARY LANDFILL

 Disposal in landfills
INCORPORATION INTO AS A FERTILIZER

 Injection of sludge into soil

 REFERENCES

 Environmental engineering by Howard S .Peavy

 mimoza.marmara.edu.tr/~orhan.gokyay/enve425/ch2.p
df
 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/GH-10-97-106-
EN-C/download
 http://www.lenntech.com/library/sludge/drying/sludge
drying.htm
 www.maths.tcd.ie/~jlennon/miniprojects/biomass.doc
 http://www.wrights-trainingsite.com/aerodigestion.html