Effects of Thickened Excess Sludge Pre-Treatment Using Hydrodynamic Cavitation for Anaerobic Digestion

Agnieszka Garlicka, Monika Zubrowska-Sudol, Katarzyna Umiejewska, Otton Roubinek, Jacek Palige and Andrzej Chmielewski
Additional contact information
Agnieszka Garlicka: Department of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment, Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 20 Nowowiejska St., 00-653 Warsaw, Poland
Monika Zubrowska-Sudol: Department of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment, Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 20 Nowowiejska St., 00-653 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Umiejewska: Department of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment, Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 20 Nowowiejska St., 00-653 Warsaw, Poland
Otton Roubinek: Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna St., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland
Jacek Palige: Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna St., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland
Andrzej Chmielewski: Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna St., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: The main purpose of this study was the assessment of the possibility of increasing the production of biogas through the pre-treatment of thickened excess sludge (TES) by means of the hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) conducted at different levels of energy density (E L ) i.e., 70, 140 and 210 kJ/L. The experiments were performed on a pilot scale, and a mixture of thickened primary sludge (TPS) and TES was used as digester feed. The results documented that an important parameter determining the possibility of obtaining an enhanced methane production is the value of energy input in the HC process. This parameter determines the changes occurring in sludge as a result of disintegration (i.e., sludge floc deagglomeration, lysis of cells, re-flocculation process and the related release of compounds susceptible to biodegradation from sludge flocs). The maximum increase in methane yield (MY) of 152% was obtained for E L = 140 kJ/L. In this case, HC mainly caused sludge floc deagglomeration. An increase in MY was also recorded when TES was subject to the disintegration process at E L = 210 kJ/L. However, it was 4.3 times lower than that observed for E L = 140 kJ/L. Pre-treatment of TES at E L = 70 kJ/L did not contribute to an increase in methane production.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; hydrodynamic cavitation; thickened excess sludge; methane yield; wastewater engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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