Treatment of Sewage Sludge

Banat FA, Prechtl S, Bischof F (2000) Aerobic thermophilic treatment of sewage sludge contaminated with 4-nonylphenol. Chemosphere 41 297-302... 

Fig. 1 Growth and activity of T. versicolor during a solid-phase treatment of sewage sludge, (a) Ergosterol content (circle) and laccase activity (square) (b) degrading ability measured as ND24 (adapted from [129])...

Degradation percentages of several UV filters and some of their metabolites in a solid-phase treatment of sewage sludge by T. versicolor are shown in [80]. As treatments were performed in sterile conditions, the near 100% removal efficiencies of those compounds can be attributed to fungal biotransformation. However, experiments in synthetic liquid media with the fungus in the form of pellets are preferable for the in-depth study of each contaminant. 

In general the main sources of odour emission in Norway are fish meal plants, pulp and paper mills, and plants for the treatment of sewage sludge and waste water. Investigations have been carried out in these and other branches of the industry, i.e. the food industry. 

Cesium-137, with a half-life of about 30 years, produces dangerous radiation and can cause radiation poisoning if mishandled. It is used to sterilize wheat, potatoes, and other foods to protect them from insect damage and rotting. It is also used to kill bacteria in the treatment of sewage sludge. 

Shananblesh, A. and Shimizu, Y. (2000) Treatment of sewage sludge using hydrothermal oxidation-technology application challenges. Water Sci. Technol. 41, 85-92. 

ThermoFuel (2) A process for making fuel oil by the hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge. Developed in 2005 by ThermoEnergy Corporation. 

M. Modell and M. Svanstrom, Comparison of Supercritical Water Oxidation and Incineration for Treatment of Sewage Sludges, 6th Conference on Supercritical Fluids and Their Applications, September 9-12, Maiori, Italy, 2001. 

In Europe, the main task of this conversion route is to treat organic waste or residues to reduce waste disposal eosts the production of energy is only a by-product in most cases (like the treatment of sewage sludge). 

We have mentioned the interest by companies outside the US in treatment of sewage sludge by SCWO. Within the US sludge is usually dried and spread on the land - a cheap disposal process. Where abundant space for spreading is not available, SCWO may be an economically viable alternative and may replace other currently used technologies such as incineration. Wastes from pharmaceutical and other biotechnology plants are especially suitable for SCWO. 

Uesaka M, Watanabe T, Kobayashi T, Ueda T, Yoshii K, Wu G, Li X, Saeki A, Kozawa T, Yoshida Y, Tagawa S, Muroya Y, Sugahara J, Kinosita K, Hafs N, Okuda H, Nishihara T, Terada Y, Nakajima K, Katsumura Y (2001) Radiat Phys Chem 60 303 Vysotskaya NA (1983) Radiation treatment of sewage sludge. In Role of chemistry in environmental conservation, Naukova Dumka, Kiev, p 205, (in Russian)... 

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