TY - JOUR
T1 - Ferric biogenic flocculant produced by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans enable rapid dewaterability of municipal sewage sludge
T2 - A comparison with commercial cationic polymer
AU - Kurade, Mayur B.
AU - Murugesan, Kumarasamy
AU - Selvam, Ammaiyappan
AU - Yu, Shuk Man
AU - WONG, Jonathan W C
N1 - Funding Information:
Authors thankfully acknowledge the financial support from the Innovation and Technology Support Programme (Project No. ITS/297/11 ), Innovation and Technology Commission, Hong Kong SAR Government .
PY - 2014/12/1
Y1 - 2014/12/1
N2 - Dewatering of sludge at wastewater treatment plants is an essential and costly step in the subsequent sludge processing. Prior to dewatering, sludge is conditioned by addition of expensive organic and inorganic conditioners. The present study aimed at developing an effective biological process for sludge dewatering in comparison with commercial polyacrylamide polymers. A complex ferric biogenic flocculant produced by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was used for dewatering of sludge generated after the Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment process from municipal sewage. Within 1h of treatment, the ferric biogenic flocculant reduced the capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistant to filtration (SRF) of sludge by 92 and 91%, respectively, as compared to the 89 and 72% respectively achieved by using polymer. The acidification of the sludge after the addition of ferric biogenic flocculant caused charge neutralization of sludge particles and led to enhanced dewaterability. It also enhanced the floc structure of sludge with much bigger sized flocs as compared to the control, which facilitate its dewatering capacity. Ferric biogenic flocculant treatment improved the calorific value of the sludge by 27% due to improved settlement of organic matter into the sludge pellet. The small scale mechanical filter press study confirmed that the ferric biogenic flocculant is effective in reducing sludge moisture content to 69% as well as improving the effluent quality in terms of total suspended solids and total dissolved solids removal compared with polymer treatment.
AB - Dewatering of sludge at wastewater treatment plants is an essential and costly step in the subsequent sludge processing. Prior to dewatering, sludge is conditioned by addition of expensive organic and inorganic conditioners. The present study aimed at developing an effective biological process for sludge dewatering in comparison with commercial polyacrylamide polymers. A complex ferric biogenic flocculant produced by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was used for dewatering of sludge generated after the Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment process from municipal sewage. Within 1h of treatment, the ferric biogenic flocculant reduced the capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistant to filtration (SRF) of sludge by 92 and 91%, respectively, as compared to the 89 and 72% respectively achieved by using polymer. The acidification of the sludge after the addition of ferric biogenic flocculant caused charge neutralization of sludge particles and led to enhanced dewaterability. It also enhanced the floc structure of sludge with much bigger sized flocs as compared to the control, which facilitate its dewatering capacity. Ferric biogenic flocculant treatment improved the calorific value of the sludge by 27% due to improved settlement of organic matter into the sludge pellet. The small scale mechanical filter press study confirmed that the ferric biogenic flocculant is effective in reducing sludge moisture content to 69% as well as improving the effluent quality in terms of total suspended solids and total dissolved solids removal compared with polymer treatment.
KW - Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
KW - Capillary suction time
KW - Dewaterability
KW - Ferric biogenic flocculant
KW - Sewage sludge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84910077101&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ibiod.2014.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.ibiod.2014.09.001
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84910077101
SN - 0964-8305
VL - 96
SP - 105
EP - 111
JO - International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation
JF - International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation
ER -
