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Improving sewage sludge ultrasonic pretreatment under pressure by changing initial pH
Ngoc Tuan Le1, Carine Julcour, Berthe Ratsimba
1Université de Toulouse, Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, INP-ENSIACET, 31030 Toulouse, France.
Journal of Environmental Management
|July 9, 2013
Summary
Optimizing sewage sludge ultrasound pretreatment involves adjusting pH, temperature, and pressure. Combining mild alkalization with adiabatic sonication under 2 bar pressure significantly enhances sludge disintegration (DDCOD).
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Sewage sludge pretreatment is crucial for efficient resource recovery and disposal.
- Ultrasound (US) pretreatment offers a promising method for sludge disintegration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the combined effects of pH, temperature, and external pressure on sewage sludge ultrasound pretreatment efficiency.
- To optimize US pretreatment parameters for enhanced sludge disintegration.
Main Methods:
- Sludge chemical pretreatment using NaOH (40 mg/gTS) for 30 min.
- Adiabatic sonication under varying external pressures (optimal at 2 bar).
- Evaluation of degree of sludge disintegration (DDCOD) and particle size reduction.
Main Results:
- Mild alkalization followed by sonication improved DDCOD by approximately 10% at 2 bar external pressure.
- The optimal pretreatment (40 mgNaOH/gTS + adiabatic sonication at 2 bar) achieved ~46% DDCOD.
- Ultrasound application drastically reduced particle size by disrupting large flocs, but did not significantly enhance subsequent COD solubilization.
Conclusions:
- A combination of mild alkalization and adiabatic sonication under optimal pressure is highly effective for sewage sludge disintegration.
- External pressure significantly enhances the efficiency of ultrasound pretreatment.
- Further research may be needed to improve subsequent COD solubilization post-pretreatment.
