Treatment of sewage sludge generated in municipal wastewater treatment plants

This study was designed to evaluate the performance of a cylindrical anaerobic digester in treating secondary sewage sludge. A series of three independent batch experiments was performed for a total operation time of 60 d. The system of anaerobic digestion showed stability conditions, with no noticeable scum or foaming problems. The chemical oxygen demand reduction reached 29,21, and 45% in sludge and 95,85, and 82% in supernatant for the three experiments, respectively. Total coliform bacteria levels in the digester ranged from 10(4) to 10(5) in influent sludge and from 10(4) to 10(3) in effluent sludge, with an average reduction of 90%. Fecal coliforms of the order of 10(4) were enumerated in influent sludge and those of the order of 10(0) were enumerated in effluent sludge, with an average reduction of 99.9%. The studied system had satisfactory results, showing that both organic matter and indicator bacteria levels substantially decrease when the sludge is submitted to anaerobic digestion.