EAT 356/4 - WASTEWATER ENGINEERING

SLUDGE REMOVAL MANAGEMENT

 CONTENT

• Sources and characteristics of solids and

sludge
• Sludge thickening
• Sludge stabilization
• Dewatering
• Elutriation
• Ultimate disposal of sludge
 Introduction

• Sludge: Materials containing large amount of water and a

small part of solids (1-6%)
• Needs to be treated in a correct manner to avoid
environmental contamination
• Sludge also contains organics and inorganic component
and other forms of contaminates
• Sources and characteristics of solids and sludges
depend on the type of plant and method of operation
• Because of strict rules & regulations involving the
handling and disposal of sludge – necessary to reduce
the volume of sludge (to reduce operating cost ~50% of
the treatment plant cost)
• Sludge generated during the WW treatment classified:
i) Primary sludge – settle in primary settling tanks (3-7% solid +
~60-80% are organic). color – gray, slimy, fairly course & highly
obnoxious odors. Difficult to dewater without treatment, hence
digestion (aerobic or anaerobic) is needed.
ii) Secondary sludge – from secondary tank (brownish),
flocculent appearance & earthy odor. Consists mainly
microorganism (75 -90% organic fraction, remaining is inert
materials)
iii) Tertiary sludge – nature of sludge from tertiary (advanced)
treatment process depends on the unit process (membrane,
chemical etc??.) Chemical sludge from phosphorus removal is
difficult and treat. Tertiary sludge from biological nitrification and
denitrification is similar to waste activated sludge.
What
process?
Sources of solids from conventional wastewater treatment plants
Characteristics of solids and sludge produced during wastewater treatment
Characteristics of solids and sludge produced during wastewater treatment
Typical chemical composition of untreated sludge and digested biosolids
Typical metal content in wastewater solids
 The Objectives of Treatment

• To stabilize organic content in the sludge

• To reduce the volume of sludge (Since water
constitutes most of the sludge, water removal can
reduce most of the volume)
• To remove pathogenic organisms in sludge (causes of
disease)
• To acquire valuable materials from sludge, especially
useful gases, and also the sources of compost
 Sludge Thickening

• A physical process
• Increase the solids content of sludge by removing
portion of the liquid fraction
• Reduces sludge volume to facilitate ease in handling,
treatment and disposal
• Method of thickening:
– Co-settling thickening
– Gravity thickener
– Air Flotation
– Centrifugation
– Gravity belt
– Rotary drum
Occurrence of thickening methods in solids processing
 Gravity Thickener

• Resembles a circular sedimentation tank and has

vertical pickets attached to the sludge scraper arm
• Dilute sludge is fed to the center of feed well, and
allowed to settle and compact
• As the scraper arm moves slowly the pickets gently stir
the sludge to release trapped water and air from it
• The thickened sludge is withdrawn from the bottom and
the supernatant is recycled to the treatment plant inlet
• Sludge can be thickened to more than 10% solids in a
gravity thickener
 Gravity Thickener

• Designed based on thickener overflow rate and solids

loading
• High hydraulic loading can cause excessive sludge carry
over whereas low hydraulic loading can cause septic
conditions and odors and result in floating sludge

Recommended hydraulic overflow rates for gravity thickener

Type of sludge Max. overflow rate,

m3/m2.d
Primary 15.5 – 31
Waste activated sludge 4–8
Combined primary & waste activated sludge 6 – 12
Schematic diagram of a gravity thickener
Schematic diagram of a gravity thickener
Typical concentrations of unthickened and thickened sludges and solids
loadings for gravity thickeners
 Example
A low rate digester is to designed for waste sludge
generated from activated sludge process treating sewage
generated from 25000 persons. The fresh sludge has 0.11
kg dry solid/capita-day (VS =70% of ds). The dry solid is
5% of the sludge and specific gravity is 1.01.
During the digestion 65% of VS are destroyed and fixed
solids remained unchanged. The digested sludge has 7%
ds and a wet specific gravity is 1.03. Operating temperate
of digester is 35ᵒC and sludge storage time is 45 days.
Determine the digester volume required. Assume digestion
time is 23 days.
 Solution
From the given data:
• Solids in incoming sludge = 25000*0.11 =2750 kg.day
• Volatile solids = 2750*0.7 = 1925 kg/day
• Fixed solids = 2750 * 0.3 = 825 kg/day
• VSS destroyed = 1925 * 0.65 = 1251 kg/day

Digested sludge solids represent output

Output = Input – decrease due to reaction
VSS in digested sludge = 1925 – 1251 = 674 kg/day in
digested sludge
• Hence total solids in digested sludge = Volatile solids +
Fixed solids
= 674 + 825 = 1499 kg/day
Volume of digested sludge = 1499/0.07 *1.03*1000 = 20.79 m3/day

Fresh sludge volume = 2750/0.05 *1.01*1000 = 54.46 m3/day

Average sludge volume of digesting sludge Vavg = V1 – (2/3) (V1-V2)
= 54.46 – 0.67 (54.46 -20.79) = 31.9 m3/day

Total volume of digested sludge in digestion = (31.9 *23) +

(20.79*45) = 1669.25 m3

Therefore, volume of digester = 2* 1669.25 = 3338.5 m3

 Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF)

• Air is forced into solution under pressure and then mixed

with sludge in the influent
• The mixture enters a floatation tank and the rising air
bubbles carry the sludge flocs to the liquid surface
• The layer of thickened sludge formed on the liquid
surface is skimmed off
• The skimmed effluent exits as underflow
• Sludge can be thickened to about 6% solids
• Higher loadings can be used with DAF than gravity
thickeners due to rapid separation of solids from the
wastewater
Typical dissolved air floatation unit used for thickening waste
activated sludge
 Centrifugation

• Thickening (and dewatering) by centrifugation involves

the settling of sludge particles under the influence of
centrifugal forces.
• The basic type of centrifuge used for sludge thickening is
the solid-bowl centrifuge.

Schematic diagram of a centrifuge used for sludge thickening

 Gravity Belt Thickener

• Stemmed from the application of belt-press for sludge

dewatering
• In belt-press dewatering, sludge thickening occurred in
the gravity drainage section of the press
• A gravity belt moves over rollers driven by a variable-
speed drive unit
• The sludge is conditioned with polymer and fed into a
feed box at one end
• The water drains through the belt as the concentrating
sludge is carried toward the discharge end of the
thickener
 Gravity Belt Thickener

Schematic diagram of a gravity belt thickener

Rotary drum
 SLUDGE STABILIZATION

• Once the sludge is thickened, two options are available for further
treatment of the concentrated sludge. It can be dewatered to a
solid content of between 30-40% or it can undergo stabilization
processes to reduce the organic materials in the sludge before
going to the dewatering step.

• Coarse primary solids and secondary sludge (sometimes called

biosolids) accumulated in a wastewater treatment process must
be treated before disposal to ensure environmentally responsible
and lawful outcome. Sludge is often inadvertently contaminated
with toxic organic and inorganic compounds and is nutrient-rich.
The objective of sludge stabilization is multifaceted:
• -it reduces pathogens;
• it eliminates odor; and
• - it reduces organic matters,
• -preventing or inhibiting future decomposition—this is relevant to sludges from
many food-processing wastewaters.
• Sludges are stabilized to prevent anaerobic breakdown naturally during
storage of sludges (a process termed as putrefaction), producing offensive
odor.
• Stabilization of sludge can be done chemically or biologically, though the latter
is more common and effective.

The technologies for sludge stabilization are:

• Lime stabilization
• Heat treatment
• Anaerobic disgestion
• Aerobic digestion
• Vermistabilization
• Composting
(Make note of the technologies above)
 Elutriation

• Literally means washing of the sludge

– Eg. Washing or elutriating the sludges in water of low alkalinity is
needed for anaerobically digested sludges, which have high
alkalinity that has to be reduced before effective chemical
conditioning may be possible
• Typical flow rates required for elutriation are 4 – 5 times
the sludge flow
• Fine solids can be separated from the sludge and
recycled through the plant, resulting in their loss in the
effluent (may require treatment of the wash water and
rethickening of the sludge
• Use of polyelectrolytes for sludge conditioning has
reduced the application of elutriation
Thanks you