Research Progress and Development Trend of Disposal Technology for Municipal Sludge in China

At present,main sludge disposal manners of China contain landfill,composting,natural drying and incineration. A large number of sludge does not obtain standardized processing,which directly causes"secondary pollution"and seriously threatens eco-environment. Therefore,how to rationally treat municipal sludge is one of problems that need urgent solution at present. In this paper,current mainstream pretreatment technique of municipal sludge and backend disposal technique are explored,and mainstream backend disposal technique is introduced. Moreover,key problems in municipal sludge disposal field are analyzed,which has certain reference significance for further understanding the current development of municipal sludge disposal field in China.

STUDY AND SIMULATION OF AN ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATMENT FOR METHYL VIOLET WASTE WATER

This paper researched a promising biological treatment of methyl violet waste water by methods of activated sludge.Effects of temperature and pH were studied on this process.Kinetic equation of the substrate biodegradation was investigated in the experimental range.It was studied and simulated that flow within the bubble region of this bioreactor according to the κ ε two fluid equation.Simulation results agree well with experimental data.

Numerical Simulation of Vacuum Preloading for Chemically Conditioned Municipal Sludge

Municipal sludge is a sedimentation waste produced during the wastewater process in sewage treatment plants.Among recent studies,pilot and field tests showed that chemical conditioning combined with vacuum preloading can effectively treat municipal sludge.To further understand the drainage and consolidation characteristics of the conditioning sludge during vacuum preloading,a large deformation nonlinear numerical simulation model based on the equal strain condition was developed to simulate and analyze the pilot and field tests,whereas the simulation results were not satisfactory.The results of the numerical analysis of the pilot test showed that the predicted consolidation degree was greater than that measured by the field tests,which is attributed to the relatively low permeability layer formed during the preloading process of the prefabricated vertical drain.To better reflect the consolidation process of the conditioned sludge,a simplified analysis method considering the low permeability layer around the prefabricated vertical drain was proposed.The initial permeability coefficient of the low permeability layer is determined via numerical simulations using finite difference method.The predicted settlement curve was in good agreement with the measured results,which indicated that the numerical simulation based on the equal strain condition considering the relatively low permeability layer can better analyze the consolidation process of ferric chloride-conditioning sludge with vacuum preloading.

Analysis of bacterial community structures in two sewage treatment plants with different sludge properties and treatment performance by nested PCR-DGGE method

The bacterial community structures in two sewage treatment plants with different processes and performance were investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） of nested polymerase chain reaction （nested PCR） amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments with group-specific primers. Samples of raw sewage and treated effluents were amplified using the whole-cell PCR method, and the activated sludge samples were amplified using the extracted genomic DNA before the PCR products were loaded on the same DGGE gel for bacterial community analysis. Ammonia-oxidizing bacterial and actinomycetic community analysis were also carried out to investigate the relationship between specific population structures and system or sludge performance. The two plants demonstrated a similarity in bacterial community structures of raw sewage and activated sludge, but they had different effluent populations. Many dominant bacterial populations of raw sewage did not appear in the activated sludge samples, suggesting that the dominant bacterial populations in raw sewage might not play an important role during wastewater treatment. Although the two plants had different sludge properties in terms of settleability and foam forming ability, they demonstrated similar actinomycetic community structures. For activated sludge with bad settling performance, the treated water presented a similar DGGE pattern with that of activated sludge, indicating the nonselective washout of bacteria from the system. The plant with better ammonium removal efficiency showed higher ammonia-oxidizing bacteria species richness. Analysis of sequencing results showed that the major populations in raw sewage were uncultured bacterium, while in activated sludge the predominant populations were beta proteobacteria.

Combined alkaline and ultrasonic pretreatment of sludge before aerobic digestion

Alkaline and ultrasonic sludge disintegration can be used as the pretreatment of waste activated sludge （WAS） to promote the subsequent anaerobic or aerobic digestion. In this study, different combinations of these two methods were investigated. The evaluation was based on the quantity of soluble chemical oxygen demand （SCOD） in the pretreated sludge as well as the degradation of organic matter in the subsequent aerobic digestion. For WAS samples with combined pretreatment, the released COD levels were higher than those with ultrasonic or alkaline pretreatment alone. When combined with the ultrasonic treatment, NaOH treatment was more efficient than Ca（OH）2 for WAS solubilization. The COD levels released in various sequential options of combined NaOH and ultrasonic treatments were in the the following descending order： simultaneous treatment 〉 NaOH treatment followed by ultrasonic treatment 〉 ultrasonic treatment followed by NaOH treatment. For simultaneous treatment, low NaOH dosage （100 g/kg dry solid）, short duration （30 min） of NaOH treatment, and low ultrasonic specific energy （7500 kJ/kg dry solid） were suitable for sludge disintegration. Using combined NaOH and ultrasonic pretreatment with optimal parameters, the degradation efficiency of organic matter was increased from 38.0% to 50.7%, which is much higher than that with ultrasonic （42.5%） or with NaOH pretreatment （43.5%） in the subsequent aerobic digestion at the same retention time.

Community analysis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge of eight wastewater treatment systems

We investigated the communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） in activated sludge collected from eight wastewater treatment systems using polymerase chain reaction （PCR） followed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism （T-RFLP）, cloning, and sequencing of the α-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene （amoA）. The T-RFLP fingerprint analyses showed that different wastewater treatment systems harbored distinct AOB communities. However, there was no remarkable difference among the AOB T- RFLP profiles from different parts of the same system. The T-RFLP fingerprints showed that a full-scale wastewater treatment plant （WWTP） contained a larger number of dominant AOB species than a pilot-scale reactor. The source of influent affected the AOB community, and the WWTPs treating domestic wastewater contained a higher AOB diversity than those receiving mixed domestic and industrial wastewater. However, the AOB community structure was little affected by the treatment process in this study. Phylogenetic analysis of the cloned amoA genes clearly indicated that all the dominant AOB in the systems was closely related to Nitrosomonas spp. not to Nitrosospira spp. Members of the Nitrosomonas oligotropha and Nitrosomonas communis clusters were found in all samples, while members of Nitrosomonas europaea cluster occurred in some systems.

Sludge reduction with Tubificidae and the impact on the performance of the wastewater treatment process

To reduce excess sludge, a Tubificidae reactor was combined with an integrated oxidation ditch with vertical circle （IODVC）, and a new integrated system was developed for wastewater treatment, A pilot-scale of this integrated system was tested to investigate the sludge reduction with Tubificidae and the impact on effluent quality and sludge production. The dominant worm was Branchnria Sowerbyi in the Tubificidae reactor after inoculation of Branchnria Sowerbyi and Limnodrilns sp., and the maximal volume density of wet Tubificidae in vessels of the Tubificidae reactor was 17600 g/m^3. Two operational modes, treating the excess sludge （first mode） and the returned sludge （second mode） of IODVC by the Tubificidae reactor, were used in this experiment. The results showed that the excess sludge reduction rate was 46.4% in the first mode, and the average sludge yield of the integrated system was 6.19× 10^-5 kg SS/kg COD in the second mode. Though the sludge returned to IODVC via the Tubificidae reactor, it had little impact on the effluent quality and the sludge characteristics of the IODVC. No new type of recalcitrant substance in the supernatant was discharged into the environment when the sludge was treated by Tubificidae. The experimental results also indicated that no significant changes occurred on the viscosity, specific resistance, and the floc size distribution of the sludge.

Levels and distributions of polychlorinated biphenyls in sewage sludge of urban wastewater treatment plants

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs） have been measured in sewage sludge samples from 8 urban wastewater treatment plants in Beijing, China. The PCB congeners were analyzed by isotope dilution high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry method. The concentration of PCBs ranged from 65.6 to 157 ng/g dry weight （dw）, with a mean value of 101 ng/g dw. The dioxin-like PCB WHO-TEQs （World Health Organization-Toxic Equivalents） of the sludge were lower than 1 pg /g dw. Consequently, all the concentrations of PCBs in sludge samples were below the upper limit for land application according to the Chinese legislation law for agriculture use. The PCB homologue profiles in sludge samples were dominated by tri-CBs and tetra- CBs. Similar distributions have been found in one of the Chinese PCB commercial products. The patterns of dioxin-like and indicator congeners observed in this study were quite similar in all samples. The predominant congener for dioxin-like and indicator PCBs were PCB-118 and PCB-28, respectively, while PCB-126 had the highest TEQ value.

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.

Stability of expanded granular sludge bed process for terylene artificial silk printing and dyeing wastewater treatment

Terylene artificial silk printing and dyeing wastewater(TPD wastewater), containing averaged 710 mg/L terephthalic acid(TA) as the main carbon source and the character pollutant, was subjected to expanded granular sludge bed(EGSB) process. The stability of the EGSB process was firstly conducted by laboratory experiment. TA ionization was the predominated factor influencing the acid-base balance of the system. High concentration of TA in wastewater resulted in sufficient buffering capacity to neutralize the volatile fatty acids(VFA) generated from substrate degradation and provided strong base for anaerobic system to resist the pH decrease below 6.5. VFA and UFA caused almost no inhibition on the anaerobic process and biogas production except that pH was below 6.35 and VFA was at its maximum value. Along with the granulating of the activated sludge, the efficiency of organic removal and production rate of biogas increased gradually and became more stable. After start-up, the efficiency of COD removal increased to 57%—64%, pH stabilized in a range of 7.99—8.04, and production rate of biogas was relatively high and stable. Sludge granulating, suitable influent of pH and loading were responsible for the EGSB stability. The variation of VFA concentration only resulted in neglectable rebound of pH, and the inhibition from VFA could be ignored in EGSB. The EGSB reactor was stable for TPD wastewater treatment.

Green Synthesis of Magnetic Adsorbent Using Groundwater Treatment Sludge for Tetracycline Adsorption

Groundwater treatment sludge is an industrial waste that is massively produced from groundwater treatment plants.Conventional methods for treatment of this sludge,such as discharge into deep wells or the sea,or disposal at landfills,are not environmentally sustainable.Here,we demonstrate an alternative strategy to recycle the sludge by preparing a magnetic maghemite adsorbent via a one-step hydrothermal method with NaOH solution as the only solvent.With this method,the weakly magnetized sludge,which contained 33.2%iron(Fe)and other impurities(e.g.,silicon(Si),aluminum(Al),and manganese(Mn)),was converted to magnetic adsorbent(MA)with the dissolution of Si/Al oxides(e.g.,quartz and albite)into the liquid fraction.At a NaOH concentration of 2 mol L^-1,approximately 18.1%of the ferrihydrite in the Fe oxides of the sludge was converted into 11.2%maghemite and 6.9%hematite after the hydrothermal treatment.MA2(i.e.,MA produced by a 2 mol L^-1 NaOH concentration)exhibited a good magnetic response of 8.2 emu g^-1(1 emu=10^-3 A m^2),and a desirable surface site concentration of 0.75 mmol g^-1.The synthesized MA2 was used to adsorb the cationic pollutant tetracycline(TC).The adsorption kinetics of TC onto MA2 fitted well with a pseudo-second-order model,and the adsorption isotherms complied well with the Langmuir model.The maximum adsorption capacity of MA2 for TC was 362.3 mg g^-1,and the main mechanism for TC adsorption was cationic exchange.This study is the first to demonstrate the preparation of an MA from recycled sludge without a reductant and/or exogenous Fe source.The prepared adsorbent can be used as a low-cost adsorbent with high capacity for TC sorption in the treatment of TC-containing wastewater.

Evaluation of copper removal efficiency using water treatment sludge

Large quantities of sludge are produced during water treatment processes. Recently, sludge has been treated as waste and disposed of in landfills, which increases the environmental burdens and the operational cost. Therefore, sludge reuse has become a significant environmental issue. In this study, adsorption of copper ions (Cu^2+) onto calcined sludge was investigated under various operational conditions (with varying temperature, Cu^2+ initial concentration, pH, and sludge dosage). The prepared sludge material was characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area. The sorption capacity of sludge was directly proportional to the initial Cu^2+ concentration and inversely proportional to the sludge dosage. The optimum operational pH and solution temperature were 6.6 and 80℃, respectively. The experimental results followed a Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-first-order adsorption kinetics. Thermodynamic parameters such as activation energy, change in free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were calculated. Thermodynamic analyses indicated that the sorption of copper ions onto the calcined sludge was driven by a physical adsorption process. The prepared sludge was proven to be an excellent adsorbent material for the removal of Cu^2+ from an aqueous solution under optimum conditions.

ACID ELECTROLYTIC TREATMENT PROCESS OF SCRAP BATTERY SLUDGE

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Discussion on Sludge Treatment Technology

Abstract The principles of reduction, stabilization, harmlessness, resource utilization and low carbonization for sludge treatment and disposal were stated, and the ad- vantages and disadvantages of different sludge treatment methods were analyzed, from which it concluded that sludge treatment should be acted according to the practical circumstances but not blindly followed, by choosing the appropriate way of sludge treatment. Key words Sludge; Sludge treatment; Landfill; Incineration; Digestion; Land use

Assessment of Cadmium and Lead in Dried Sewage Sludge from Lubigi Feacal Sludge and Wastewater Treatment Plant in Uganda

Sludge contains organic and inorganic compounds including traces of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and others. These metals restrict the use of sludge in agriculture because their accumulation is harmful to the environment and particularly the food chain. Cadmium and lead are among the most common heavy metals found in municipal wastewater treatment plant sludge. They are capable of bioaccumulation in plant tissues like roots and leaves and are non-biodegradable and therefore they remain in the sludge which is disposed on land or used as fertilizers on farms. The presence of heavy metal pollutants serves as a great threat to soils and also makes plants grown on such soils unfit for animal and human consumption as they may have detrimental effects to animal and human life. For instance, Pb and Cd are known to be human carcinogens. This study therefore aimed to investigate the levels of Cd and Pb in the treated dry sludge from Lubigi Feacal Sludge and Wastewater treatment plant located in Kawempe division, Kampala city, Uganda so as to ascertain its safety for use on agricultural lands. Two batches of samples were collected and analyzed at Government Analytical laboratory in Wandegeya, Uganda. The acid digested sludge samples were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) method. The average concentrations of Pb found in collected sludge samples, batch 1 (11.912 mg/kg dm) and batch 2 (5.304 mg/kg dm) were far below the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) maximum permissible concentration (840 mg/kg) for any land application. Cadmium was not detected in all the sludge samples collected;there is an implication that it is either completely absent in the sludge generated by the plant or present but far below detectable levels. The sludge generated from Lubigi fecal sludge and wastewater treatment plant is therefore safe for application on agricultural lands as far as Pb and Cd concentrations are concerned.

Current Status of Sludge Collection, Transportation and Treatment in Ho Chi Minh City

In the process of construction and development, Ho Chi Minh City is discharging about six types of sludge: 1) sludge from urban wastewater drainage systems;2) sludge from industrial wastewater drainage system;3) sludge from the canal dredging activities periodically;4) sludge from septic tanks;5) sludge from the water treatment station/plant;6) sludge from the construction sites. Sludge’s components are very different among types of sludge, sludge from the sewer network and canal dredging contain mainly sand and soil (70% - 90% dry weight), while the sludge from the wastewater/water treatment station/plant and from septic tanks contain mainly biodegradable organic substances (55% - 80% dry weight). The concentrations of all above-mentioned sludge (except sludge from the hazardous industrial wastewater treatment plant) are lower than toxic threshold. The volume of total sludge is about 3000 - 4000 m3/day (5000 - 6000 tons/day), excepting the amount of sludge generated from the water treatment plant (which is collected and treated separately). Sludge from wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks is collected, transported and recycled to become organic fertilizer. The other types of sludge are collected, transported, and disposed at the “unknown” locations, even though they have different values for use.

Design of a modern automatic control system for the activated sludge process in wastewater treatment

The Activated Sludge Process(ASP) exhibits highly nonlinear properties. The design of an automatic control system that is robust against disturbance of inlet wastewater flow rate and has short process settling times is a challenging matter. The proposed control method is an I-P modi fied controller automatic control system with state variable feedback and control canonical form simulation diagram for the process. A more stable response is achieved with this type of modern control. Settling times of 0.48 days are achieved for the concentration of microorganisms,(reference value step increase of 50 mg·L-1) and 0.01 days for the concentration of oxygen(reference value step increase of 0.1 mg·L-1). Fluctuations of concentrations of oxygen and microorganisms after an inlet disturbance of5 × 103m3·d-1are small. Changes in the reference values of oxygen and microorganisms(increases by 10%, 20% and 30%) show satisfactory response of the system in all cases. Changes in the value of inlet wastewater flow rate disturbance(increases by 10%, 25%, 50% and 100%) are stabilized by the control system in short time. Maximum percent overshoot is also taken in consideration in all cases and the largest value is 25% which is acceptable. The proposed method with I-P controller is better for disturbance rejection and process settling times compared to the same method using PI controller. This method can substitute optimal control systems in ASP.

Continuous treatment of azo acid dyes by photo-dependent denitrifying sludge

Simultaneous removals of dye and nitrate by photo dependent denitrifying sludge(PDDS) have been demonstrated in a continuous flow bench scale reactor. The best C/N for the degradation of azo dyes by PDDS was 1.5. The specific removal rate of azo dye AB92 decreased with a decrease in hydraulic retention time and increased with a decrease in solids retention time. The degradation rate of TOC decreased with a decrease in hydraulic retention time. AB92, which has nitro and hydroxyl substitutions in non para positions, was uniquely degraded. During continuous flow treatment experiments using PDDS, complete degradation of azo dyes AB92 and AO20 at influent concentrations of 40 mg/L and 30 mg/L, respectively, was achieved with an HRT of 16.

Application of Cold Plasma Technology in Sludge Treatment

Cold plasma technology was used to treat sludge,and the effects of various discharge times on the p H,EC,content of available nutrients( available nitrogen,available phosphorus and available potassium),value of fecal coliforms,and mortality of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs of sludge were studied. The results showed that after the treatment of sludge by cold plasma technology,it had certain effects on the p H,EC,available nitrogen and available phosphorus content of the sludge,and had no significant effect on available potassium content. Within certain discharge times,sludge p H increased,while EC,available nitrogen and available phosphorus content decreased,and there was no significant change in available potassium content. The plasma generated by discharge could effectively kill microorganisms under normal atmospheric pressure,so that the value of fecal coliforms and mortality of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs of the treated sludge could meet the requirements of the relevant standard.

Advances in Sludge Treatment Technology

In recent years,sewage treatment has become a common concern of cities,and proper sewage treatment will directly benefit cities by facilitating their healthy and fast development. In this study,the principles of sludge treatment and disposal such as reduction,stabilization,harmlessness,resource utilization,and low carbonization were introduced. Afterwards,the advantages and disadvantages of ways to dispose sewage were analyzed,and some new techniques were also introduced. In a word,it was advisable to treat sewage properly based on actual conditions.