[Dewaterability and particle size distribution of activated and digestion sludge]

The dewaterability and particle size distribution of activated and digestion sludge were studied. Meanwhile, the related mechanism was explored through analyzing the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content and microbe characteristic of activated and digestion sludge. The dewaterability was evaluated using the capillary suction time (CST) and settling property. The CST of activated sludge and digestion sludge are 9.84 s and 607.5 s, respectively. The settling time of the solids of digestion sludge is longer than that of activated sludge. The major reason of poor dewaterability of digestion sludge is the degradation of carbohydrate and protein parts of EPS. In addition, the quantity of protozoan in digestion sludge is less than that of activated sludge, resulting in reducing the excretion of certain matters benefiting the agglomeration between microbes. The EPS content of digestion sludge is 123 mg/g, which was 77% less than that of activated sludge. The degradation of EPS during the digestion process leads to the smaller particle size of digested sludge, and then the poorer dewaterability. The particle size that occupied maximum volume in activated sludge is 133 microm, while it is 44.6 microm in digestion sludge. The mean particle size of activated sludge is 132.6 microm which is larger than that of digestion sludge (70.48 microm).