Effect of proteins,polysaccharides,and particle sizes on sludge dewaterability

Four batch experiments of hydrolysis and acidification were carried out to investigate the distributions of proteins （PN） and polysaccharides （PS） in the sludge, the PN/PS ratio, the particle sizes, and their relationship with sludge dewaterability （as determined by capillary suction time, CST）. The sludge flocs were stratified through centrifugation- and ultrasound-based method into four fractions： （1） slime, （2） loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances （LB-EPS）, （3） tightly bound EPS （TB-EPS）, and （4） pellet. The results showed that PN was mainly partitioned in the pellet （80.7%） and TB-EPS （9.6%） fractions, while PS distributed evenly in the four fractions. During hydrolysis and acidification, PN was transferred from the pellet and TB-EPS fractions to the slime fraction, but PS had no significant transfer trends. The mean particle sizes of the sludge flocs decreased with hydrolysis and acidification. The pH had a more significant influence on the dewaterability of sludge flocs than temperature. Sludge dewaterability during hydrolysis and acidification processes greatly deteriorated from 9.7 s at raw sludge to 340-450 s under alkaline conditions. However, it was just slightly increased under acidic conditions. Further investigation suggested that CST was affected by soluble PN, soluble PN/PS, and particle sizes of sludge flocs, but was affected slightly by total PN, PS, or PN/PS in the whole sludge flocs and other fractions （except slime）.

Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on sludge dewaterability and extracellular polymeric substances distribution in mesophilic anaerobic digestion

Effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on sludge dewaterability was determined and the fate of extracellular polymeric substances （EPS） matrix in mesophilic anaerobic digestion after ultrasonic pretreatment was studied. Characteristics of proteins （PN）, polysaccharides （PS）, excitation-emission matrix （EEM） fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight （MW） distribution of dissolved organic matters （DOM） in different EPS fractions were evaluated. The results showed that after ultrasonic pretreatment, the normalized capillary suction time （CST） decreased from 44.4 to 11.1 （sec·L）/g total suspended solids （TSS） during anaerobic digestion, indicating that sludge dewaterability was greatly improved. The normalized CST was significantly correlated with PN concentration （R2 = 0.92, p 〈 0.01） and the PN/PS ratio （R2 = 0.84, p 〈 0.01） in the loosely bound EPS （LB-EPS） fraction. Meanwhile, the average MW of DOM in the LB- EPS and tightly bound EPS （TB-EPS） fractions also had a good correlation with the normalized CST （R2 〉 0.66, p 〈 0.01）. According to EEM fluorescence spectroscopy, tryptophan-like substances intensities in the slime, LB-EPS and TB-EPS fractions were correlated with the normalized CST. The organic matters in the EPS matrix played an important role in influencing sludge dewaterability.

Improving sludge dewaterability via Fe^(2+) chelated citrate activated peroxydisulfate oxidation

Citrate (Ct) was chosen as a typical chelator used in the Fe^(2+)-peroxydisulfate (PDS) process to improve sludge dewaterability.The PDS-Fe^(2+)-Ct process exhibited better performance in sludge dewatering than PDS-Fe^(2+).Specifically,with a PDS dosage of 1.2 mmol/g VS,the molar ratio of PDS/Fe^(2+)and Ct/Fe^(2+)were 4:5 and 1:4,respectively,the capillary suction time decreased from 155.8 to 24.8sec,and the sludge cake water content decreased from 82.62%to 64.11%(-0.06MPa).The oxidation led to a reduced negative charge and a decrease in particle size.The enhanced sludge dewaterability and changes of sludge properties were attributed to the decomposition of extracellular polymeric substances,and it was explored by protein,polysaccharide,3D-EEMs,and FT-IR.Additionally,the quenching experiments of radical species demonstrated that SO_(4)-·played a more important role than·OH,and its productivity was improved with the addition of Ct.Moreover,the reasons for the improved productivity of radicals with the addition of Ct were discussed.The results of this study could serve as a basis for improving sludge dewatering using the PDS-Fe^(2+)-Ct process and suggest that the addition of Ct may improve the productivity of SO_(4)-·in the activation o PDS via Fe^(2+).

Effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on anaerobic digestion and its sludge dewaterability

To investigate the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on anaerobic digestion and sludge dewaterability and further to probe into the influencing factors on sludge dewaterability,sludge flocs were stratified into four fractions： （1） slime;（2） loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances （LB-EPS）;（3） tightly bound EPS （TB-EPS）;and （4） EPS-free pellets.The results showed that ultrasonic pretreatment increased the anaerobic digestion efficiency by 7%–8%.Anaerobic digestion without ultrasonic pretreatment deteriorated the sludge dewaterability,with the capillary suction time （CST） increased from 1.42 to 47.3 （sec·L）/g-TSS.The application of ultrasonic pretreatment firstly deteriorated the sludge dewaterability （normalized CST increased to 44.4 （sec·L）/g-TSS）,while subsequent anaerobic digestion offset this effect and ultimately decreased the normalized CST to 23.2 （sec·L）/g-TSS.The dewaterability of unsonicated sludge correlated with protein （p = 0.003） and polysaccharide （p = 0.004） concentrations in the slime fraction,while that of sonicated sludge correlated with protein concentrations in the slime and LB-EPS fractions （p 0.05）.Fluorescent excitationemission matrix analysis showed that the fluorescence matters in the LB-EPS fraction significantly correlated with sludge dewaterability during anarobic digestion.

Enhanced anaerobic digestion and sludge dewaterability by alkaline pretreatment and its mechanism

To investigate the influences of alkaline pretreatment on anaerobic digestion （AD） and sludge dewaterability after AD, waste activated sludge was adjusted to different pH values （8, 9, 10, 1 1, 12） and placed at ambient temperature for 24 hr. The samples were then adjusted to the initial pH and subjected to 25 days of AD. The results showed that, when compared with the control （pH 6.8）, total suspended solids （TSS） and volatile suspended solids （VSS） reduction following pretreatment at pH 9-11 increased by 10.7%-13.1% and 6.5%- 12.8%, respectively, while biogas production improved by 7.2%-15.4%. Additionally, significant enhancement of sludge dewaterability after AD occurred when pretreatment at pH 8-9 was conducted. The proteins and carbohydrates transferred from the pellet and tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances （TB-EPS） fractions to the slime and loosely bound EPS （LB-EPS） fractions after pretreatment and during the AD process, and the concentrations of proteins and carbohydrates in the slime fraction had a good linear relationship with the normalized capillary suction time （CST）. During the AD process, the normalized CST was positively correlated with the organic materials in the loosely bound fraction of the sludge matrix （R2/〉 0.700, p 〈 0.01）, while it was negatively correlated with the organic materials in the tightly bound fraction （R2≥ 0.702, p 〈 0.01）. These results suggest that alkaline pretreatment could break the EPS matrix and release inner organic materials, thus influencing the efficiency of the AD process and dewaterability after AD.

Isolation and application of predatory Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms for municipal waste sludge biolysis and dewaterability enhancement

Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms （BALOs） are a group of ubiquitous and obligate predatory bacteria and conmlonly used as biocontrol agents. In this study, an efficient, environmental-friendly, and convenient BALOs encouraged municipal waste sludge biolysis pretreatment technique was developed and investigated for dewaterability enhancement of excess waste sludge. The indigenous predatory BALOs were successfully isolated from the sludge for biolysis treatment. Without any chemical addition or pH adjustment, the sludge specific resistance （SRF） and capillary suction time （CST） were significantly reduced by as high as 53.4% and 23.8%, respectively within 24 h＇s treatment, which would further be lowered with the increase of BALOs input dosage. However, the continuous extension of reaction time would women the sludge dewaterability. The decreases of SRF and CST accompanied with the increases of sludge disintegration degree and soluble chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations all emphasized the contributions of BALOs＇ predation activities to sludge disturbance, cell lysis, and consequently the release of sludge intracellular water to finally effectively improve the sludge dewaterability and disposal efficiency.

Effects of acid,acid-ZVI/PMS,Fe(Ⅱ)/PMS and ZVI/PMS conditioning on the wastewater activated sludge(WAS)dewaterability and extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)

The effects of four conditioning approaches:Acid,Acid-zero-valent iron(ZVI)/peroxydisulfate(PMS),Fe(Ⅱ)/PMS and ZVI/PMS,on wastewater activated sludge(WAS)dewatering and organics distribution in supernatant and extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)layers were investigated.The highest reduction in bound water and the most WAS destruction was achieved by Acid-ZVI/PMS,and the optimum conditions were pH 3,ZVI dosage 0.15 g/g dry solid(DS),oxone dosage 0.07 g/g DS and reaction time 10.6 min with the reductions in capillary suction time(CST)and water content(Wc)as 19.67%and 8.49%,respectively.Four conditioning approaches could result in TOC increase in EPS layers and supernatant,and protein(PN)content in tightly bound EPS(TB-EPS).After conditioning,organics in EPS layers could migrate to supernatant.Polysaccharide(PS)was easier to migrate to supernatant than PN.In addition,Acid,Acid-ZVI/PMS or Fe(Ⅱ)/PMS conditioning promoted the release of some polysaccharides containing ring vibrations v P=O,v C-O-C,v C-O-P functional groups from TB-EPS.ESR spectra proved that both radicals of SO4-·and·OH contributed to dewatering and organics transformation and migration.CST value of WAS positively correlated with the ratios of PN/PS in LB-EPS and total EPS,while it negatively correlated with TOC,PN content and PS content in TB-EPS,as well as PS content in supernatant and LB-EPS.BWC negatively correlated to zeta potential and TOC value,PN content,and HA content in supernatant.

Enhancement of municipal sludge dewaterability by electrochemical pretreatment

Electrolysis is a promising technology to improve sludge dewaterability efficiently with negligible environmental impact. To intensify the electrolytic efficiency, the effect of electrolytes(NaCl, Na_2SO_4, NaNO_3, and NaClO_4) on electrolysis pretreatment of municipal sludge and its mechanisms was investigated using Ti/PbO_2 electrodes. The electrolytes,which enhanced the production of oxidative radicals, showed a significant synergetic effect in reducing the capillary suction time(CST) of sludge. NaCl was distinguished from the other electrolytes since it formed a large amount of active chlorine species, which oxidized the sludge cells to improve the sludge dewaterability. The surface morphologies as well as the soluble proteins and polysaccharides were analyzed to unravel the underlying mechanisms of sludge dewaterability. Additionally, an economic assessment showed that NaCl addition in the electrolysis pretreatment can be a suitable technique for enhancing municipal sludge dewaterability.

Combined zero valent iron and hydrogen peroxide conditioning significantly enhances the dewaterability of anaerobic digestate

The importance of enhancing sludge dewaterability is increasing due to the considerable impact of excess sludge volume on disposal costs and on overall sludge management. This study presents an innovative approach to enhance dewaterability of anaerobic digestate（AD） harvested from a wastewater treatment plant. The combination of zero valent iron（ZVI, 0–4.0 g/g total solids（TS）） and hydrogen peroxide（HP, 0–90 mg/g TS） under pH 3.0 significantly enhanced the AD dewaterability. The largest enhancement of AD dewaterability was achieved at 18 mg HP/g TS and 2.0 g ZVI/g TS, with the capillary suction time reduced by up to 90%. Economic analysis suggested that the proposed HP and ZVI treatment has more economic benefits in comparison with the classical Fenton reaction process. The destruction of extracellular polymeric substances and cells as well as the decrease of particle size were supposed to contribute to the enhanced AD dewaterability by HP ＋ ZVI conditioning.

Enhancing anaerobic biodegradability and dewaterability of sewage sludge by microwave irradiation

Thermal hydrolysis was an effective pretreatment for the sewage sludge by improving dewatering and anaerobic digestion but the heating was a time-consuming process.This study focused on the effects of the microwave irradiation by using high temperature and pressured system on sewage sludge hydrolysis.The results obtained in current research showed that sludge could absorb microwave energy with high efficiency and then be hydrolyzed fast.The solubilization of suspended solid(SS),volatile suspended solids(VSS)and the increasing of the level of soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD)in liquid fraction showed that the microwave irradiation could be shortened to 5 min under a temperature range of 80℃-170℃.The highest value of VSS dissolution ratio(36.4%)was obtained at 170℃for 30 min.The COD dissolution ratio was about 25%at 170℃.The improvement of the biogas production from both mixture sludge and waste activated sludge was 20.2%and 25.9%respectively at 170℃for 10 min.The dewaterability of sludge was greatly improved.Subsequently,the sludge volume could be reduced by 60%with microwave irradiation.

Reversibility of the structure and dewaterability of anaerobic digested sludge

The reversibility of the structure and dewaterability of broken anaerobic digested sludge（ADS）is important to ensure the efficiency of sludge treatment or management processes.This study investigated the effect of continuous strong shear（CSS）and multipulse shear（MPS）on the zeta potential,size（median size,d（50））,mass fractal dimension（DF）,and capillary suction time（CST）of ADS aggregates.Moreover,the self-regrowth（SR）of broken ADS aggregates during slow mixing was also analyzed.The results show that raw ADS with d（50） of 56.5μm was insensitive to CSS–SR or MPS–SR,though the size slightly decreased after the breakage phase.For conditioned ADS with d（50） larger than 600μm,the breakage in small-scale surface erosion changed to large-scale fragmentation as the CSS strength increased.In most cases,after CSS or MPS,the broken ADS had a relatively more compact structure than before and d（50） is at least 200μm.The CST of the broken fragments from optimally dosed ADS increased,whereas that corresponding to overdosed ADS decreased.MPS treatment resulted in larger and more compact broken ADS fragments with a lower CST value than CSS.During the subsequent slow mixing,the broken ADS aggregates did not recover their charge,size,and dewaterability to the initial values before breakage.In addition,less than 15%self-regrowth in terms of percentage of the regrowth factor was observed in broken ADS after CSS at average velocity gradient no less than 1905.6 sec^（-1）.

The Use of Ultrasonics in the Treatment of Waste Activated Sludge

The present paper reports on extensive investigations using an ultrasomc treatment ot WAS, to study its potential to meet one or all of four objectives： （1） reduce WAS quantities; （2） achieve a better dewaterability; （3） provoke a release of COD from the biosolids, preferably transformed into biodegradable organics and （4） possibly destroy the filamentous micro-organisms responsible for sludge bulking. The experiments are carried out in a batch reactor of volume up to 2.3L. The ultrasonic apparatus consisted of a generator, a converter and a sonotrode, supplied by Alpha Ultrasonics under the brand name of Telsonic. Three different sludge kinds were tested, at approximate concentration （DS/WAS） between 3.5 and 20g·L^-1. The release of COD from the WAS-phase into the filtrate phase is a function of the specific energy-input SE with yields of about 30% achievable at SE-values of 30000 kJ·kg^-1. A major fraction of the COD is transformed into biodegradable organics （BOD）. The reduction of DS-fraction of the sludge is equivalent to the COD-release rates. Although the dry solids content （DS） is reduced, the dewaterability of the sludge is not improved. This reflects itself in a slightly decreased dryness of the filter cake using vacuum filtration, and in increased values of the capillary suction time （CST）. This more difficult dewaterability is the result of considerably reduced floc sizes, offering an extended surface area. More surface water is bound （CST increases） and the filterability decreases due to clogging of the cake. To reach the same dryness as the untreated cake, the required dosage of poly-electrolyte increases proportionally with the level of ultrasound energy supplied. The ultrasonic reduction of filamentous WAS organisms is not conclusive and very little effect is seen at low intensities and short treatment durations. Microscopic analysis of the WAS identified the dominant presence of Actynomyces. Especially the release of COD and its transformation into BOD certainly merit further research.

Effect of Combined Microwave-Ultrasonic Pretreatment on Anaerobic Biodegradability of Primary, Excess Activated and Mixed Sludge

This work deals with the effect of combined microwave-ultrasonic pretreatment on the anaerobic biodegradability of primary, excess activated and mixed sludge. The characteristics, biodegradability and anaerobic digester performance for untreated primary, excess activated and mixed sludge were compared to combined microwave-ultrasonic pretreated primary, excess activated and mixed sludge. All sludge samples were subjected to Microwave treatment at 2450 MHz, 800 W and 3 min followed by ultrasonic treatment at a density of 0.4 W/mL, amplitude of 90%, Intensity of 150 W, pulse of 55/5 for 6min. Methane production in pretreated primary sludge was significantly greater (11.9 ml/g TCOD) than the methane yield of the untreated primary sludge (7.9 ml/g TCOD). Cumulative methane production of pretreated Excess Activated Sludge (EAS) was higher (66.5 ml/g TCOD) than the methane yield from pretreated mixed sludge (44.1 ml/g TCOD). Furthermore, digested EAS showed significantly higher dewaterability (201 s) than digested primary sludge (305 s) or mixed sludge (522 s). The average Methane: Carbondioxide ratio from EAS (1.85) was higher than that for mixed untreated sludge (1.24). VS reduction was also higher for EAS than the other two sludge types. However, pretreatment of EAS resulted in significant reduction in dewaterability due to higher percentage of fine floc particles in the pretreated EAS.

Using Boiling for Treating Waste Activated Sludge

In this work we investigated the feasibility of using short time, low superheat boiling to treat biological sludge. The treated sludge exhibited reduced filterability and enhanced settleability. The boiling treatment released a large amount of extra cellular polymers (ECPs) from the solid phase and reduced the microbial density levels of the total coliform bacteria and the heterotrophic bacteria. A diluted sludge is preferable for its high degree of organic hydrolysis and sufficient reduction in microbial density levels.

Settling and dewatering characteristics of granulated methane-oxidizing bacteria

We evaluated the settling ability and dewaterability of granulated methane-oxidizing bacteria （GMOB） after granulation using a continuous-flow reactor. A comparative analysis on settling and dewatering characteristics due to changes in sludge retention time （SRT, 10, 15 and 20 days） during cultivation of GMOB was conducted. In assessing dewaterability, the specific resistance to filtration （SRF） of activated sludge and GMOB was found to be 8.21×1013-2.38×1014 and 4.88 × 1012-1.98×1013 m/kg, respectively. It was confirmed that as SRT decreased, SRF of GMOB increased. In the case of bound extracellular polymeric substance （EPS）, activated sludge registered 147.5 mg/g-VSS while GMOB exhibited 171-177.2 mg/g-VSS. In the case of extracellular polymeric substance soluble EPS in effluent, activated sludge measured 62 mg/L and GMOB had 17.4-21.4 mg/L. The particle size analysis showed that mean particle diameters of GMOB were 402, 369, and 350 μm, respectively, at SRTs of 20, 15 and 10 days. In addition, it was found that GMOB had a larger mean particle diameter and exhibited much better settleability and dewaterability than activated sludge did.