In the treatment process of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage, the generation of a large amount of sludge has become a thorny problem. The moisture content in sludge is usually as high as 95% to 99%. If the moisture can be effectively removed, the volume of sludge will be greatly reduced, making subsequent treatment more convenient. However, as most sludge particles carry a certain amount of charge, their dewatering performance is extremely poor, and traditional dewatering methods often fail to achieve the desired effect. The independently developed sludge enhancer provides an effective solution to this problem and achieves deep dewatering of sludge.
I. The Importance of Deep Sludge Dewatering
With increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, the standards for sludge treatment are also getting higher and higher. In the traditional sense, dewatering only removes part of the liquid. However, deep dewatering of sludge takes it a step further on the basis of the traditional method. Through advanced technical means and equipment, the water in the sludge is removed as thoroughly as possible to achieve the goal of high solid content and low moisture content. After deep dewatering, the volume of sludge is significantly reduced, which is convenient for transportation and storage, and at the same time reduces the potential harm to the environment. Moreover, the sludge that has undergone deep dewatering is more convenient for subsequent treatment and can be reused as fertilizers, building materials and other resources, achieving the resource utilization of waste and reducing reliance on natural resources.
Ii. Working Principle of Sludge Enhancer
Sludge enhancer is a kind of chemical agent that can change the surface structure of sludge, reduce the solid surface load of sludge, lower the specific surface area of sludge, and destroy the structure of bacteria. Its main components are inorganic compounds, sludge surface structure modifiers, degreasing agents, cell wall disruptors, sludge surface treatment agents, sludge stripping agents, etc. These components work together and play an important role. For example, cell wall disruptors can destroy the cell walls and cell membranes of bacteria in sludge, releasing intracellular water. Degreasing agents can remove organic substances such as grease from sludge, reduce the viscosity of sludge, and make it easier to separate water. Sludge surface structure modifiers change the surface properties of sludge particles, reduce their specific surface area, lower the surface load, and promote the separation of sludge and water. Through the synergistic effect of these components, the sludge enhancer can effectively remove most of the free water, bound water, capillary water and intracellular water in the biochemical sludge, creating favorable conditions for subsequent dewatering treatment.
Iii. Significant Advantages of Sludge Enhancers
High-efficiency dewatering and significant reduction in moisture content: When used in combination with plate and frame sludge presses, the sludge efficiency enhancer can reduce the moisture content of sludge from over 90% to 40% - 60%, fully achieving sludge reduction. Compared with traditional dewatering agents, the dewatering effect has been significantly improved, effectively solving the problem of incomplete sludge dewatering.
The dosage of the agent is small and the cost is low: The dosage of the sludge enhancer is only 3-4%, and the cost generated is only about 40% of the original cost of the sludge reducer. This not only reduces the enterprise's cost of purchasing chemicals, but also cuts down on the subsequent processing costs caused by the extensive use of chemicals.
Breaking through the bottleneck of sludge dewatering and enhancing production efficiency: Sludge enhancers can break through the bottleneck of sludge dewatering and achieve efficient concentration and dewatering. When the chemical conditioning achieves a better effect, the adoption of high-pressure feeding and high-pressure pressing can shorten the time of the entire pressing section, increase the sludge pressing rate of mechanical equipment by 100% to 500%, and greatly improve the production efficiency. Meanwhile, the fully automatic unloading and the reverse blowing and washing of the filter medium (filter cloth) are completed simultaneously, reducing the labor intensity of the control workers while maintaining the effect of the filter cloth in intercepting sludge and allowing water to pass through.
Friendly to equipment and non-corrosive: Traditional sludge dewatering agents often require the addition of substances such as lime, which not only causes severe corrosion and wear to the equipment but also leads to lime dust flying everywhere at the operation site, endangering the occupational health of workers. The sludge enhancer does not contain chloride ions, does not require the addition of lime, is non-corrosive to equipment, which is conducive to extending the service life of equipment and improving the working environment at the same time.
Strong adaptability and wide application: The sludge enhancer has strong adaptability to water quality and high resistance to acids and alkalis. It is widely used in the dewatering and treatment of sludge in various industries such as daily life, printing and dyeing, papermaking, electroplating, chemical engineering, and leather, and can meet the sludge treatment needs of different industries.
It is conducive to subsequent disposal: The sludge treated with the sludge enhancer has a small difference in dryness between the inside and outside of the sludge cake, no "soft core" sludge cake phenomenon, and does not change the nature of the sludge. It has no impact on pH and organic matter, no side effects, and is conducive to the subsequent resource utilization of the sludge such as incineration, brick-making, and composting. Meanwhile, this enhancer can also pre-add a matching accelerator for the subsequent sludge drying and disposal process, greatly improving the efficiency of the subsequent drying and disposal.
Iv. Practical Application Cases
A certain municipal sewage treatment plant has long been confronted with the problem of sludge dewatering. Using traditional dewatering agents and processes, the moisture content of the mud cake remains high, making it difficult to meet the landfill standards, and the treatment cost is also high. After attempting to use the sludge enhancer, the situation was significantly improved. By adding an appropriate amount of sludge enhancer to the sludge and combining it with a plate and frame sludge press for dewatering treatment, the moisture content of the sludge was successfully reduced to about 50%, fully meeting the landfill standards. Meanwhile, due to the reduction in the dosage of chemicals and the improvement in production efficiency, the sludge treatment cost of this factory has been significantly reduced. In addition, the quality of the mud cakes has also been improved, which is conducive to subsequent resource utilization.
For instance, a certain printing and dyeing enterprise produced a large amount of sludge with a high moisture content during the production process, which seriously affected the normal operation of the enterprise. After the application of the sludge enhancer, not only was deep dewatering of the sludge achieved, reducing the moisture content from over 90% to around 45%, but also the sludge pressing efficiency of the plate and frame filter press was significantly enhanced, and the sludge pressing cycle was markedly shortened. While reducing the cost of sludge treatment, enterprises also minimize environmental pollution, achieving a win-win situation for both economic and environmental benefits.
V. Conclusion
Sludge enhancer, with its unique formula and outstanding performance, has demonstrated significant advantages in the field of deep sludge dewatering. It can not only effectively solve the problem of sludge dewatering, achieve efficient and low-cost sludge reduction, but also lay a good foundation for the subsequent resource utilization of sludge. With the continuous improvement of environmental protection requirements and the sustained attention to sludge treatment technology, sludge enhancers are expected to be widely applied in more industries, making greater contributions to the development of China's sludge treatment industry. Whether it is municipal sewage treatment plants or various industrial enterprises, they can all consider using sludge enhancers to enhance their sludge treatment levels and jointly contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development.