Low-temperature drying of waste activated sludge enhanced by agricultural biomass towards self-supporting incineration

A high moisture content of waste activated sludge (WAS) associated with a low calorific value needs to be deeply dried towards self-supporting incineration. On the other hand, thermal energy with low temperature exchanged from treated effluent has great potential for drying sludge. Unfortunately, low-temperature drying of sludge seems to be...

Synergy of phosphate recovery from sludge-incinerated ash and coagulant production by desalinated brine

Wet-chemical approach is widely applied for phosphate recovery from incinerated ash of waste activated sludge (WAS), along with metals removed/recovered. The high contents of both aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in WAS-incinerated ash should be suitable for producing coagulants with some waste anions like Cl⁻ and SO₄<sup>2−<...

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production by municipal waste activated sludge: Tackling scaling-up process challenges

Microbes are the gears that sustain all forms of life in planet Earth and are expected to become key players in the transition towards a more sustainable society. In this thesis, microbes from sewage sludge are used for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates, biodegradable polymers that have the potential to replace<br/>many of the petroleum...

Enhancing Volatile Fatty Acid Production during Anaerobic Fermentation of Waste Activated Sludge with Persulfates: Peroxymonosulfate versus Peroxydisulfate

Persulfates ((peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxydisulfate (PDS)) can disintegrate waste activated sludge (WAS), but their influence on volatile fatty acid (VFA) production during anaerobic fermentation is largely unclear. Particularly, it is unknown whether persulfates can improve fermentation without any preactivation. This study...

Life cycle assessment of the mesophilic, thermophilic, and temperature-phased anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

In this study the environmental impact of the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge within an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated. Three alternative AD systems (mesophilic, thermophilic, and temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD)) were compared to determine which system may have the best...