An economic assessment of the enhanced dewaterability of municipal wastewater sludge following ultrasonic treatment

Seungmin Na, Young Uk Kim, Min Jang, Younggyu Son, Myunghee Lim, Jeehyeong Khim

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    1 Citation (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study examined the dewatering behavior of sludge subjected to ultrasonic (US) treatment by measuring capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF). The results revealed a significant decrease in the CST and SRF at high volumetric supplied energy, Ev (> 5,400 kJ L-1) due to the solubilization of disintegrated sludge floc or suspended solids. Moreover, the decrease in the sludge volume/mass and water content was proportional to Ev. However, the potential to reduce the sludge cake and water content was lower at higher Ev (> 5,400 kJ L -1) due to the release of some of the water trapped inside the sludge flocs or cells before sludge compaction. We conclude that selecting the optimal US energy is critical to obtain enhanced dewatering properties and reduced sludge cake. The economic efficiency of incinerating ultrasonically treated sludge cakes was high, with savings of >52% in total treatment costs.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number07KE11
    JournalJapanese journal of applied physics
    Volume53
    Issue number7 SPEC. ISSUE
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014 Jul

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    The authors are grateful to S. Sashidhara, R. Ravi and D. Mollaiah for their willing assistance in the experimental work. Thanks are due to Amy Solana for her generous help in the preparation of the figures and in the calculations. One of the authors (DHS) is grateful to Philip Morris, USA and Chrysalis Technologies Inc. for providing financial support for carrying out this work.

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Engineering
    • General Physics and Astronomy

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