Effect of thermal treatment of anaerobic sludge on the bioavailability and biodegradability characteristics of the organic fraction
Most works reported in the literature focus on thermal treatment of waste activated sludge at temperatures in the range of 160 to 180ºC. This research aimed at evaluating the thermal treatment of excess anaerobic sludge at much lower temperatures, using biogas generated in the wastewater treatment p...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Brazilian Society of Chemical Engineering
2009-09-01
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| Series: | Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-66322009000300003 |
| Summary: | Most works reported in the literature focus on thermal treatment of waste activated sludge at temperatures in the range of 160 to 180ºC. This research aimed at evaluating the thermal treatment of excess anaerobic sludge at much lower temperatures, using biogas generated in the wastewater treatment process as the energy source for heating a simplified thermal reactor. Direct burning of the biogas allowed an increase in the sludge temperature up to values close to 75ºC, for a 7-hour heating period. Sludge samples taken at different heating times showed that the thermal disintegration of the organic fraction allowed increases in the concentration of protein, carbohydrate, lipid and COD parameters by 30 to 35 times, as well as a 50% increase in the biogas production. Moreover, the simplified thermal treatment system proved to be an effective alternative for recovering energy from biogas and for controlling methane emissions to the atmosphere. |
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| ISSN: | 0104-6632 1678-4383 |