Sludge Bio-drying Process at Low Ambient Temperature: Effect of Bulking Agent Particle Size and Controlled Temperature

摘要

Sludge bio-drying is an aeration process for the removal of water. The drying process utilizes the bio-heat generated from aerobic degradation of organic matter in sludge. In this study, four trials were run in the winter season at ambient temperatures of between 3°C and 9°C. The physical and chemical changes that occurred during the process were investigated and the impacts of the particle sizes of bulking agents and the controlled-matrix temperature were assessed. Results indicated that the process can start up in winter with a three-day lag, while the total duration was only seven days. The highest water removal rate (of 31.0%) with the least organic matter loss (of 12.2%) was obtained at a lower controlled matrix temperature (of 43°C) with a bulking agent of mixed particle size. As a common bulking agent, straw, which has a small particle size of 2-5 mm, was beneficial for organic matter degradation, while it had a negative effect on water removal. The use of different types of straw (with larger particle size of 20-30 mm) as the bulking agent gave poor performance, in which the organic matter degradation rate was 9.75% and the water removal rate was 25.9%. Higher controlled temperature (53°C) resulted in less aeration but degradation rates were enhanced to 16.8%. The using of lower temperatures (43°C) resulted in lower water removal rate (of 29.2%) and relatively lower biodegradation rate.View full textDownload full textKeywordsBulking agent particle size, Controlled temperature, Organic matter degradation, Sludge bio-drying, Water removalRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2012.665113