The slow degradation rate of sewage sludge in anaerobic digestors is due to the rate limiting step of sludge hydrolysis. The effect of ultrasound pretreatment on sludge degradability was investigated using ultrasound at a frequency of 31 kHz and high acoustic intensities. Ultrasound treatment resulted in raw sludge disintegration as was demonstrated by increase of Chemical Oxygen Demand in the ...

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is an expensive and environmentally sensitive problem. It is also a growing problem world-wide since sludge production will continue to increase as new sewage treatment works are built and environmental quality standards become more stringent. With some traditional disposal routes coming under pressure, and others such as sea disposal having been phas...

Sewage sludge was disposed of in Liverpool Bay for over 100 years. Annual amounts increased from 0.5 million tonnes per annum in 1900 to approximately 2 million tonnes per annum by 1995. Macrofauna and a suite of environmental variables were collected at a station adjacent to, and a reference station distant from, the disposal site over 13 years, spanning a pre- (1990-1998) and post- (1999-2003...

This paper critically reviews the fate of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) in biosolids, with emphasis on identifying operation conditions that impact the accumulation of TrOCs in sludge during conventional wastewater and sludge treatment and assessing the technologies available for TrOC removal from biosolids. The fate of TrOCs during sludge thickening, stabilisation (e.g. aerobic digestion,...

Activated sludge process has been widely adopted to remove pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, stable operation of activated sludge process is often compromised by the occurrence of filamentous bulking. The aim of this study is to build a proper model for timely diagnosis and prediction of filamentous sludge bulking in an activated sludge process. This study developed a ...

-Phragmites austrailis have been commonly planted on sludge treatment wetlands due to its high resistance to sludge waste; thus sludge treatment wetlands are commonly referred to as “reed beds”. Phragmites’ aggressive nature and high productivity allow this invasive plant species to form monoculture stands, alter ecosystem processes, outcompete and replace native species. Thus, native alternati...

Municipal solid waste incineration fly ash is generated in a significant amount; it is classified as hazardous waste in Taiwan. In order to reduce the volume of treated fly ash, a sintering technology can be considered. However, a traditional sintering consumes too much energy because of the limit of heat transfer. Hence, a microwave process which can provide quick, uniform, and selective heati...

We report a multipurpose furnace designed for studies using synchrotron radiation on polycrystalline materials, namely, metals, ceramics, and (semi)crystalline polymers. The furnace has been designed to carry out three-dimensional (3D) x-ray diffraction measurements but can also be used for other types of synchrotron radiation research. The furnace has a very low thermal gradient across the spe...

Large volumes of sludge are produced from onsite sanitation systems in densely populated areas (e.g. slums and emergency settlements) and wastewater treatment facilities that contain high amounts of pathogens. There is a need for technological options which can effectively treat the rapidly accumulating sludge under these conditions. This study explored a pilot-scale microwave (MW) based reacto...

This paper mainly emphasizes development of a multifluid blast furnace model and its application to simulate several innovative ironmaking operations. At first, the development process and framework of the model are briefly introduced. Then, model simulations on hydrogen bearer injection show that the enhancement of hydrogen reduction brings the improvement of furnace performance, especially fo...