Effect of ultrasonic and thermal disintegration of water treatment sludge

This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of thermal and ultrasound disintegration on the disintegration degree (DD) of water treatment sludge from a municipal water treatment plant. A disintegration process was used to (i) improve subsequent coagulation efficiencies and dewatering processes (ii) reduce sludge production, and (iii) obtain both economic and enviromental benefits. The results show that using the disintegration process has an influence on DD values. It is also worth emphasising that the main parameter determining the efficiency of ultrasonic and thermal disintegration was the time of the applied process. Other parameters such as ultrasound intensity and temperature had a reduced impact on DD values.