Enhancement of sludge gravitational thickening with weak ultrasound

doi:10.1007/s11783-011-0368-5

Front Envir Sci Eng

2012, Vol. 6

Issue (5) : 753-760 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0368-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Enhancement of sludge gravitational thickening with weak ultrasound

Panyue ZHANG¹, Tian WAN², Guangming ZHANG²(

)

1. School of Environment Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China

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Abstract

Gravitational thickening is the prevailing method to reduce sludge volume but the process is slow and usually requires addition of polyelectrolyte(s). This paper investigated the potential benefits of sonication on enhancing the sludge gravitational thickening with very low energy dose, so called “weak ultrasound”. Results showed that weak sonication significantly changed the sludge settlability and the main mechanism was release of the loosely bounded extracellular polymeric substances. The changes in sludge behaviors by sonication were strongly influenced by power density and sonication duration. Lower sound frequency was slightly better than higher frequency. Weak sonication (<680 kJ·kg^-1 DS) improved the sludge gravitational thickening while high ultrasonic energy deteriorated the process. Considering both the sludge thickening efficiency and energy consumption, the optimum conditions were 0.15 W·mL^-1, 7 s, and 25 kHz. Under such conditions, the energy dose was only 155 kJ·kg^-1 DS, much lower than literature reports, and the sludge settling time was shortened from 24 h to 12?h. Weak sonication could substitute expensive polyelectrolyte coagulant for sludge thickening. Combination of weak sonication and polyelectrolyte could further reduce the settling time to 6 h. The final water content of the thickened sludge was not changed after sonication or polyelectrolyte addition.

Keywords activated sludge sonication settlability dry weight extracellular polymeric substances polyelectrolyte

Corresponding Author(s): ZHANG Guangming,Email:gmgwen@gmail.com

Issue Date: 01 October 2012

Cite this article:

Panyue ZHANG,Tian WAN,Guangming ZHANG. Enhancement of sludge gravitational thickening with weak ultrasound[J]. Front Envir Sci Eng, 2012, 6(5): 753-760.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-011-0368-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2012/V6/I5/753

Tab.1 Sludge characteristics

Fig.1 Sludge gravitational thickening: (a) sludge dry weight; (b) supernatant organic content

Fig.2 Impact of PAM addition on sludge gravitational thickening

Fig.3 Impact of sonication power density on sludge gravitational thickening, 15 s, 25 kHz

Fig.4 Impact of sonication duration on sludge gravitational thickening, 0.15 W·mL, 25 kHz

Fig.5 Microphotographs of floc structure, 0.15 W·mL, 25 kHz: (a) floc structure in untreated sludge; (b) floc structure changes during sonication (400 times magnification)

Fig.6 Sludge SCOD increase during sonication: (a) 15 s, 25 kHz; (b) 0.15 W·mL, 25 kHz

Fig.7 Concentration changes of Ca and Mg in supernatant during sonication, 0.15 W·mL, 25 kHz

Fig.8 Combinations of sonication and PAM for sludge thickening, 0.15 W·mL, 7 s, 25 kHz

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