Abstract
To increase the dewatering effect, sewage sludge should be properly prepared before dewatering. Sludge conditioning is a process whereby sludge solids are treated with chemicals or various other means to improve dewatering characteristics of the sludge by reducing the specific resistance and compressibility of the sludge. The aim of the research was to determine the possibility of increasing the efficiency of sewage sludge dewatering by applying chemical agents and ultrasonic field. Some parameters, such as suspension, chemical oxygen demand (COD), phosphorus and ammonium nitrogen content in sludge supernatant, were also analysed. Digested sludge belonged to the group of hardly dewatered sludge, its capillary suction time (CST) was of high value (2639 s). The lowest CST value (88.5 s) was obtained for the unsonicated sludge prepared only with PIX 113 at a dose of 7.0 mg/g d.m. Both the dose and the type of chemicals used, as well as the time of sonication, had an impact on the changes occurring in sludge properties. The increase in mechanical dewatering efficiency was obtained by using a combination of methods applied for sludge preparation, where the sonication of sludge was used at the preliminary stage and followed by dosing chemical substances. This resulted in the reduction of sludge final hydration and changes of other parameters. In addition, combined action of PIX 113 and Zetag 8180 allowed to reduce the content of suspended solids and COD in sludge supernatant.