Decamax

Sludge treatment and disposal is one of the key positions of operating costs in large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). On large WWTPs, dewatering of digested sludge is mainly performed with centrifuges. The performance of the centrifuge and thus, the (cost-) efficiency of the whole sludge dewatering process, strongly depends on the operating parameters of the centrifuge and the properties/preparation and dosage of the polymer used as flocculation aid. The research project "Decamax" therefore mainly focuses on these aspects and their impact on the dewatering result, i.e. mainly the dry solid content of the sludge cake and the quality of the sludge liquor. Moreover, the impact of sludge pre-heating on sludge dewatering is assessed, because it is known that the dewatering temperature has a high influence on the process as well. Besides a technical study and full-scale trials at a WWTP in Berlin, the project included trials with a 0.4 m³/h pilot-scale centrifugation unit in Braunschweig.