TITLE:
Developing a Novel Approach for Sludge Treatment Using Microwaves Technology
AUTHORS:
David Yu, Wendy Li
KEYWORDS:
Municipal Sewer Sludge, Sludge Dewatering, Microwave Treatment, Intracellular Water, Thermal Conditioning, Solid Liquid Separation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.8 No.5,
May
21,
2020
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to find a method that can improve the
cost and efficiency of sludge treatment. Currently, large amounts of sludge are
produced every day, but sludge treatment is neither efficient nor profitable.
To improve the sludge treatment process, we proposed the method of using
microwave technology to treat sludge. We hypothesized that using microwave
technology, we can reduce the volume of the sludge up to 90%, and can save more
energy and time comparing to the traditional methods that we are currently
using to treat the sludge. To prove our hypothesis, we designed an experiment
to compare the solid-liquid boundary height and the solid-liquid mass ratio of
the sludge treated by the conventional method and the microwave technology.
Prime temperature and time found for dewatering sludge are 70 Celsius degrees
and five minutes. The results were rather surprising, as microwave heating demonstrated no significant
advantage over conventional heating. The solid-liquid boundary height of sludge
heated by conventional and by microwave methods are 22.34 mL and 22.56 mL; the
solid-liquid mass ratio of sludge using conventional heating and microwave
heating at 70 Celsius degrees are 14.28% and 14.55% (by separation with filter
press), or 9.82% and 9.89% (by centrifugation). In conclusion, the difference
is negligible.