THE INFLUENCE OF DUAL CONDITIONING METHODS ON SLUDGE DEWATERING PROPERTIES

One of the main processes, which facilitates dewatering is conditioning. Although there exist a number of conditioning methods, chemical methods based on the application of polyelectrolytes tend to be used more than any other methods. The following paper contains a discussion of potential applications of fly-ash as well as two selected polyelectrolytes as conditioners. The sludge samples were treated by means of single polyelectrolyte as well as polyelectrolyte in combination with fly-ash. The assessment of conditioning was based on the capillary suction time (CST) as well as the parameters of vacuum filtration process, mainly sludge resistivity. The application of fly-ash turned out to be effective, the best results were achieved for a dose of 8% (by weight). It was established that the application of dual method allowed to reduce polyelectrolyte dose by about 30%.