Relevance of Expression Phase in Dewatering of Sludge with Chamber Filter Presses
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 12
Abstract
Biological sludge contains a large quantity of water and the decrease of its content constitutes one of the main issues for wastewater treatment plant operation. Laboratory tests to estimate the sludge dewaterability, i.e., its capability of being dehydrated, have been developed in the past, but there is no evidence of the tests’ direct correlation with the behavior of the real-scale dewatering devices. Different methods (specific resistance to filtration at different pressure, capillary suction time, expression tests, and drying test) have been applied on civil sludge conditioned with ferric chloride/lime or polymer/ferric chloride and results have been compared with operational data obtained from a full scale plant. The results presented in this paper highlight the role of the expression phase in the sludge dewatering using frame filter presses. To predict the sludge behavior and then to optimize the conditioning step, the laboratory procedure used for selecting the chemicals and doses has also to consider the effect of the expression of the cake.
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Acknowledgments
Writers thank Professor Gronchi (Politecnico di Milano) for the useful help with the drying tests and personnel and manager of the wastewater treatment plant, who have hosted and financed the research.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 12 • December 2009
Pages: 1380 - 1387
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 29, 2008
Accepted: Apr 2, 2009
Published online: Apr 3, 2009
Published in print: Dec 2009
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