Return to search

Laboratory evaluation of conditioning requirements for sludge dewatering using belt filter press

The purposes of this study were to develop a reliable bench-scale testing procedure to adequately predict polymer conditioning requirements for full-scale belt filter presses, and to determine the additional polymer demand exerted by applied pressure during the expression stage of a dewatering process. Bench-scale experiments performed with anaerobically digested, alum, and secondary sludges used a high-speed mixer to gauge mixing intensity effects, and a wedge zone tester to gauge applied pressure effects on conditioning requirements. Full-scale experiments varied Sludge throughput, belt speed, and polymer dose to evaluate polymer performance.

The polymer requirements to optimize performance of a full-scale belt filter press can be predicted with a bench-scale mixing device, where the shear (Gt) of the mixer matches that of the full-scale press. An estimate of the Gt value of the full-scale belt filter presses used in this study was 10,000. Alternatively, a bench-scale wedge zone tester, operated in an applied pressure range between 5 psi and 20 psi, can predict polymer doses for optimum belt filter press performance.

The range of applied pressures used to simulate the expression phase of a dewatering process did not exert a Significant additional polymer demand for optimum conditioning. The shear (Gt) associated with mixing sludge and polymer during conditioning can exert a greater polymer demand than the expression phase of the wedge zone tester. / Master of Science

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/41628
Date14 March 2009
CreatorsBurgos, William David
ContributorsEnvironmental Engineering, Novak, John T., Knocke, William R., Gallagher, Daniel L.
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Text
Formatx, 104 leaves, BTD, application/pdf, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
RelationOCLC# 23817997, LD5655.V855_1990.B974.pdf

Page generated in 0.0023 seconds