The Influence of the Addition of Cement and Zeolite on the Increase in the Efficiency of Sewage Sludge Dewatering in the Pressure Filtration Process

Mariusz Kowalczyk ()
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Mariusz Kowalczyk: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Częstochowa University of Technology, ul. Brzeźnicka 60a, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: The process of removing water from sewage sludge is particularly important due to its high content in the raw sludge. This translates into problems with the transport and storage of sediments. Additionally, high water content reduces the calorific value of the sludge. The methods for selecting the appropriate parameters for sewage sludge conditioning and filtration, based on the experimental data presented in this work, may allow for the optimization of sludge dewatering lines in small and large sewage treatment plants. The optimization of the dewatering process has a significant impact on the environmental and economic benefits, which consequently results in a decrease in the power costs of the devices used, flocculants, and sludge processing, and, above all, it contributes to the reduction in the negative impact on the environment. The use of mineral substances in the preparation of sewage sludge improves the effects of its dewatering in the pressure filtration process, as expressed in the obtained values of the final hydration and process efficiency. The use of polyelectrolytes alone significantly improves the effects of sewage sludge dewatering. In this work, the polyelectrolytes were supported by the addition of cement or zeolite. The conditioning of sewage sludge in combined methods using C-494 polyelectrolyte and minerals made it possible to reduce the compressibility coefficient to the range of 0.24–0.47 and, at the same time, to achieve the best results of sludge dewatering in the filtration process. The lowest hydration of 74.9% was achieved when polyelectrolyte and cement were added to the sludge, and this hydration was 6.5 percentage points lower compared to that of the non-filtered sludge.

Keywords: sewage sludge dewatering; pressure filtration; sewage sludge conditioning; total organic carbon (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: 2024
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