Chapter 8

Sludge Treatment and Disposal

Importance from Exam Point of View
▪ Carries 8-12 marks

▪ Theory + Numerical

2
8.1 Sources of Sludge and
Need of treatment
 Sludge
▪ Treated effluent and sludge are two products from
sewage treatment plants.
▪ The treated effluent is directly disposed by dilution
in water body or land treatment.
▪ However, the sludge that contains 0.25 to 12 percent
solids, depending on treatment plant used for
wastewater treatment needs further treatment
before its disposal.
 Need of Sludge Treatment
▪ To reduce the water content and organic matter to
reduce the volume of sludge. Smaller sludge volume
reduces the costs of pumping, transportation and
storage.
▪ To decompose organic matter to stable end products.
Stabilized sludge does not have an offensive odour
and can be handled without causing a nuisance or
health hazard.
▪ To make the solids suitable for safe reuse or disposal
by killing bacteria and pathogen.
 Sources of Sludge
▪ The sources of sludge are wastewater treatment plants.
Following treatment plants are the sources of sludge.

a. Primary settling tank

b. Trickling Filter

c. Secondary Settling Tank

d. Chemical coagulation plants

e. Activated Sludge Process

 Methods of Sludge Treatment
▪ Following are the different unit operations and processes
used for sludge treatment:-

1. Grinding and blending

2. Thickening or concentration

3. Digestion or stabilization Method I

4. Dewatering

5. Drying

6. Composting Method II
7. Incineration Method III
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
1. Grinding and blending:
▪ Grinding is the process of grind or sheared large
material to produce homogeneous mass in grinding
machine.
▪ Blending is mixing of sludge of different
characteristic in blending tank.
▪ For example primary, secondary and tertiary sludge
are mixed to form a uniform product.
Grinding and blending:
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
2. Thickening or concentration:
▪ Sludge contains a high concentration of solids. However, its
moisture content is still high.

▪ Combined primary and secondary sludge from an activated

sludge treatment plant contains about 2 % solids i.e. 98 % is
water.

▪ One kg of dry sludge is associated with 49 L of water.

Thickening to 5 % solids means one kg of dry solids is
associated with 19 L of water; thus 30 L of water has to be
removed.
Methods of Sludge Treatment
2. Thickening or concentration:

Following are the purpose of thickening

▪ To use small size equipments subsequent treatment

processes.

▪ To reduce chemical use in subsequent treatment processes.

▪ To minimize land requirements for final disposal

▪ To save fuel requirements in incineration

 Thickening or concentration:
▪ For municipal work; gravity thickening is the most common
method as it is the least expensive.

▪ Gravity thickener tank is similar to a conventional circular

sedimentation tank but smaller in which the thickened
sludge settles by gravity and is taken off from bottom and
the supernatant is taken off from top and returned to the
primary tanks.

▪ It is simple open circular tank having slowly rotating racking

mechanism like deep truss. The vertical racks in the scraper
cause a horizontal agitation which helps to release water
trapped in flocculent structure from the sludge.
 Thickening or concentration:
▪ The diameter of these tanks should not exceed 60 m. These
tanks may be of 3 m depth and there should be provision of
freeboard (0.15 to 1 m).

▪ The typical surface loading ranges from 15 to 35 m3/day/m2.

Detention period of 3 to 4 hours is recommended.

▪ A well designed and well operated gravity thickener should

be able to double the solids or eliminate half volume.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
3. Digestion
▪ The term sludge digestion means the decomposition of
organic substances present in sludge to simple and
stable compounds by biological actions of bacteria.

▪ Bacteria gasify or liquefy the organic solid content of

sludge and thereby reduce the volume.

▪ Digestion results in reduced pathogens, elimination of

offensive odors, minimize opportunity for
putrefaction.

▪ After digestion, volume of sludge is reduced by 60 to

75%.
Methods of Sludge Treatment
3. Digestion
▪This can be obtained through following
processes:
a. Anaerobic digestion
b. Aerobic digestion
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
3. Digestion
a) Anaerobic Digestion
▪ Anaerobic digestion is process of decomposing organic
contents of sewage sludge anaerobically under controlled
conditions.

▪ Anaerobic digestion converts most of the sludge in gases

(CH4, CO2, NH3), stable humus and supernatant liquid.

▪ The liquids, in the form of supernatant, from the digester are

sent back through the plant for further treatment.

▪ Anaerobic digestion is preferred as it creates considerably

less biomass than the aerobic process and produces methane
that can be used as fuel.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
3. Digestion

b) Aerobic Digestion

▪ Aerobic digestion of sludge is biochemical decomposition of

organic matter in presence of oxygen provided by long term
aeration to reduce BOD and destroy volatile solids.

▪ In aerobic digestion microorganism obtain energy by

endogenous or auto-oxidation of their cellular protoplasm
after depletion of available food.

▪ The biologically degradable contents of cellular materials

are oxidized to carbon dioxide, water and ammonia.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
3. Digestion
b) Aerobic Digestion

▪ Aerobic digestion may be accomplished in one or more tanks

having system for diffused aeration.

▪ Generally, aerobic digesters are similar to activated sludge

tanks. The volatile solids destroys in aerobic digestion in about
10 to 12 days at a temperature of 20 C would be 35 to 45%.

▪ In higher- temperature period of digestion decrease and in

lower temperature it increase. In this process, there is low BOD
in supernatant than that of anaerobic process.

▪ There are few operational problems and initial cost is low.

However, it produces bulky material difficult for thickening.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Dewatering
▪ Dewatering is done after digestion and is a process of
removing water from sludge.

▪ Removal of water from sludge reduces the volume and cost

of subsequent process as well as reduces the cost of
transportation and land required.

▪ Dewatering is accomplished by air drying in sludge drying

beds or by mechanical means.

▪ However, rotary vacuum filters and drying beds are most

commonly used devices.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Dewatering - Rotary Vacuum Filter
▪ A vacuum filter consist of a cylindrical rotating drum. The outer
surface of the drum is of copper mesh, over which filter cloth is
stretched and wired.

▪ There is an inner solid shell inside the drum. The inner space between
the solid shell and outer shell is subdivided into a number of
compartment.

▪ Each subdivided compartment is connected to a vacuum pump and

the drum is suspended horizontally so as to immerse one quarter of its
diameter in the sludge tank.

▪ On immersion vacuum is created inside the filter compartments and

the pump sucks out water from the sludge. A scraper is provided to
scrap the sludge blanket just before it enters the sludge tank for
immersion.
De-Watering
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Sludge Drying Beds
▪ Drying of sludge can be done naturally with the helps of sunlight in
open places.

▪ If digested sludge runs over a porous bed upto a depth of 20-30cm

under favourable conditions it will dry within a week or two weeks
without any odour.

▪ Drying beds are most commonly used for sludge drying.

▪ Drying beds consist of specially prepared beds of filter media prepared

by excavating the land. The bed consist of slopping bottom layer of
gravel generally 30 to 45 cm deep over which 10-15 cm thick layer of
sand is spread.

▪ The sewage sludge is applied uniformly on these beds in about 20-30

cm depth and is allowed to dry.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Sludge Drying Beds
▪ Sludge is partly dried by evaporation of water and
partly by infiltration in 20-30 days.
▪ Open drains are laid in the bottom of the bed which
collects the drained liquor.
▪ Drying beds should be located 100 m far from the
residential area and glass cover is provided in the
areas where rainfall is high.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Sludge Drying Beds
Methods of Composting
▪The following are the different methods of
composting:
1. Windrow Composting
2. In Vessel Composting
3. Mechanical Composting
 Methods of Composting
▪ 1. Windrow composting
▪ In this method, rows of compost heap having 1.5m height
and 2.5m width are created on a surface in ventilated area
covered against rain.

▪ The waste placed is normally segregated organic wastes

after shredding (1 -5cm).

▪ The heap maintains adequate temperature at the middle

part. To provide proper aeration; windrows are periodically
turned manually or mechanically once or twice in a week.

▪ In windrow composting, it takes 2 month or more

depending on climate condition to get mature compost.
 Methods of Composting
▪ 1. Windrow composting

▪ An unequal aeration may create anaerobic condition in

some parts of the heap.

▪ Turning of waste periodically and insertion of perforated

bamboo or pipes into the waste heap can be done to get
better aeration.

▪ These aerated static pile blowers allow fresh air to flow.

▪ This will help to maintain aerobic conditions and can

generate good quality compost within 3-4 weeks. A layer of
mulching is provided surrounding the heap to stop
blowing of the waste and maintain temperature.
Windrow Composting
Windrow Composting
Windrow Composting
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Composting
▪ Composting is an aerobic bacterial decomposition process
to stabilize organic wastes and produce humus known as
compost.

▪ Compost contains nutrients and organic carbon that are

excellent soil conditioners. Reuse of composted sludge as a
soil conditioner in agriculture and horticulture returns
carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and elements essential for
plant growth back to the soil.

▪ Less chemical fertilizers are required and the organic carbon

helps to improve soil structure for soil aeration, water
percolation and root growth.
 Methods of Sludge Treatment
Composting
▪ The nitrogen and phosphorus are also released gradually for
plant uptake compared to the more soluble chemical
fertilizers.

▪ The potential of leaching of the nutrients to ground or

surface water by rainfall run-off is reduced. However,
pathogens and heavy metals can limit the reuse of sludge as
compost.
 Methods of Composting
3. Mechanical composting
▪ Windrow composting takes more time, labor and land
area that is not practical for large cities.

▪ Mechanical composting is the process of

stabilization of the waste by turning the compost
mass by mechanical devices under controlled
conditions of temperature, air and moisture.

▪ This method stabilize the waste within 3 to 6 days.

The main steps of mechanical composting process:
segregation, shredding and pulverizing and stabilization.
 3. Mechanical composting
▪ For segregation dry refuse is moved along belt conveyor to
remove ferrous materials by magnetic separators.

▪ Other undesirable material like rags, plastics, cardboard,

paper, other large objects are removed manually.

▪ Finer materials ash; particles of rubbish etc. are removed

by passing the refuse from rotary screens.

▪ This segregated organic waste is then shredded and

pulverized mechanically by using hammer mill, rushping
machine, grinder etc. and sent for stabilization in
mechanical digesters.

▪ Mechanical digesters digest and stabilize the waste under

controlled conditions of temperature, air and moisture
 3. Mechanical composting
▪ Horizontal or vertical cylinders or silo type digesters are
largely adopted for mechanical digesters as they are
hygienic and requires less space.

▪ The digestion period varies from 2 to 5 days.

▪ The stabilized humus is then collected, sieved, packed and

sent to the market.
 Methods of Solid Waste Disposal
▪ 4. Incineration plants:

▪ Incineration involves the burning of refuse in an incinerator.

Incineration involves chemical transformation of organic
fraction of solid waste.

▪ Incineration reduces volume by 80-95%. It recovers

energy in form of heat and can be changed in form of
electrical energy.

▪ Before incineration, non-combustible and inert

materials are separated to reduce the load on hearth.
The method is quite effective to destroy all insets and
pathogenic bacteria.

▪ However, it adds air pollution and ash having high

concentrations of dangerous toxins and heavy metals.
Sludge Incineration
Sludge Incineration
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
▪ Disposal of sludge is usually done on land as manure
to the soil.
▪ Sludge is commonly used as fertilizer, ashes from
incinerated sludge are used as landfill.
▪ Sludge Disposal Methods are:
1. Spreading on Land
2. Lagooning
3. Dumping
4. Land Filling
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
1. Dumping:
▪ Dumping refer to disposal of sludge in uncovered areas like
abandoned mines and quarry or natural depressions or large
water bodies.

▪ Leakage from such dumps is a major source contaminants. It

is the breeding place for flies, rats, and other insects.

▪ The rainwater runoff these dumps can contaminate nearby

land and water.

▪ This method can be adopted for digested sludge, grits or

incinerator residue.
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
2. Spreading over the land:

▪ Land application of sludge is defined as the spreading of

sludge on or just below the soil surface for the purpose of
improving the condition of the soil.

▪ After application of sludge; land should be ploughed before

seeding for crops. The land is improved in terms of nutrient
transport, water retention and soil due to use of sludge.

▪ Pollutants in the sludge may include pathogens, toxins

organic substances, trace metals etc. and may affect quality
used as fertilizer.
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
3. Landfilling:
▪ It is an alternative to dumping which will solve the problem
of leaching to some extent.

▪ Landfill is more hygienic and built in a methodical manner.

▪ These are lined with materials that are impermeable such as

plastics and clay, and are also built over impermeable soil.

▪ Lining is required to prevent contamination of groundwater

as sludge usually contains heavy metals or toxic chemicals.

▪ Daily cover should be provided to protect from foul gases

and nuisance.
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
4. Lagooning:
▪ The method of sludge disposal in pond or lagoons is called
lagooning.

▪ Natural depressions may be used as lagoon if available. A

lagoon is a shallow pond used for storage, digestion and
dewatering.

▪ This method may be used for digested as well as raw sludge.

▪ Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria digest organic matter

present in the sludge and there are chances of foul smell.
Therefore, they are not built near residential areas.
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
4. Lagooning:
 Methods of Sludge Disposal
Lagooning:
▪ Similarly, lagoon may affect ground water quality. Therefore,
lagoons should not constructed if GWT is too near to
ground surface.

▪ It takes 1 to 2 month for complete stabilization. Lagoons are

fill and draw type. After complete stabilization the sludge is
withdrawn and used as manure and water is either
evaporated or same part may be drained off finally.
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