Chapter 6

SLUDGE TREATMENTAND DISPOSAL

• objectives of sludge treatment are

➢ Reduction in the volume of sludge for disposal by removing

some of the water

➢ Stabilization of the organic matter contained in the sludge,

➢ Destruction of pathogenic organisms,

➢ Disposal of the sludge in a safe and aesthetically acceptable manner.

➢ Primary sludge contains inorganic solids as well as coarser organic solids is more
granular and concentrated than secondary sludge.
Cont.…
➢ Primary sludge is typically 2-6% dry solids by mass.
➢ Secondary sludge is mainly composed of biological solids.
➢ Secondary sludge typically 0.5-2% dry solids for activated sludge process
Sludge Processing and Disposal Methods
Cont.…
I) Sludge Thickening
• Sludge thickening is a procedure used to remove water
and increase the solids content.
• The purposes of sludge thickening are to reduce the sludge volume to be handled in the
subsequent sludge processing units (pump, digester, and dewatering equipment) and to reduce
the construction and operating costs of subsequent processes.
Cont.…
• Sludge Digestion Process

• The process of stabilizing by decomposing the organic matter under control of an aerobic
condition.

• In a sludge digestion process, the sludge gets broken into the following three forms:

(I) Digested sludge

(II) Supernatant liquor

(III) Gases of decomposition

Cont.…
Stages in the Sludge Digestion Process

• Three distinct stages have been found to occur in the

• biological action involved in the natural process of sludge
• digestion.
(i) Acid fermentation
(ii) Acid regression
(iii) Alkaline fermentation
Factors Affecting Sludge Digestion

The important factors which affect the process of sludge digestion are:
1. Temperature

2. pH value

3. Seeding with digested sludge

4. Mixing and stirring of the raw sludge with digested sludge.

 Sludge Digestion Tank or Digesters
Sludge Digestion Tank or Digesters

• A typical sludge digestion tank consists of a circular Rcc tank with hoppered bottom, and having a fixed or a

floating type of roof over its top.

• The raw sludge is pumped into the tank, and when the tank is first put into operation, it is seeded with the

digested sludge from another tank, as pointed out earlier.

Typical sludge digestion Tank
Two Stage Digestion
➢ While treating sewage on a large scale, two stage digestion of sludge is generally
adopted instead of a single stage digestion, as discussed above.

➢ In two stage digestion, two digestion tanks, called primary

and secondary digesters, are used.

➢ Sludge is, first, admitted into the primary digestion tank (or primary digester) and is
kept there for a period of about 7 to 10 days.

➢ The gas produced is collected in this unit. The partly digested sludge and supernatant
liquor from this primary digester are then transferred to the secondary digestion tank
(or secondary digester), where they are kept for a period of about 20 days or so.
Two stage digestion gives the following advantages compared to
single stage digestion
(i) Two stage digestion is an effective method of preventing (or

reducing greatly) any tendency for the sludge to short-circuit.

(ii) Only the primary digester is provided with heating, stirring, gas

collection arrangements; while the secondary unit merely acts as a

closed settling tank.

(iii) It has been estimated that the total cost with two stage digestion

may be less than that for two tanks operated in parallel.

 Disposal of Digested Sludge

➢ The digested sludge from the digestion tank contains a lot of water, and is,
therefore, first of all, dewatered or dried up, before further disposal either by
burning or dumping.