Effect of ultrasound and high voltage disintegration on sludge digestion process

Abstract

Sludge digestion process can be optimized applying the methods of sludge disintegration. This article analyses the efficiency of the digestion process of disintegrated sludge by methods of ultrasound or high voltage in comparison to the digestion process of non-disintegrated sludge. The sewage sludge from two Lithuanian wastewater treatment plants as used for the research. Both wastewater treatment plants use analogous sludge treatment technology, in both of them the municipal wastewater is treated and the influence of industry on the quality of sewage is analogous. Due to this it has been assumed that the quality of excess sludge is also analogous. The results showed that both analysed methods of disintegration had the same effect on the increase of specific destruction of volatile solids (VSS) and increase of specific biogas production with the maximum values of 22% and 12–13% respectively. In case of digestion of disintegrated excess activated sludge applying both methods, the maximum methane content in biogas was 71.9%, whereas in case of digestion of non-disintegrated sludge it was 58.3% only. The total operation expenses and capital expenditures of ultrasonic disintegration method are more than 8 times higher comparing to the total expenses and expenditures of high voltage disintegration method.