Conditionnement des boues: impact des polymères sur la structure des flocs

International audienceIn order to enhance mechanical dewatering, conditioning polymers are used to flocculate sewage sludge. These polymers modify floc structure, which has an impact on dewatering efficiency. However, fundamental aspects of those processes are incompletely understood, particularly the way that flocs are structurally organized and how this may relate to their mechanical and dewatering properties. Thus, this study focused on the impact of different types of polymers on sludge rheological and microscopic properties. Polymer dosage was found to be the main parameter controlling these properties and a master curve was obtained between the linear viscoelastic (LVE)complex modulus and polymer dosage, based on optimal polymer concentration. Additionalresearch possibilities were also defined

Physical characteristics of conditioned anaerobic digested sludge: A fractal transient and dynamic rheological viewpoint

International audienceThe changes in the physical characteristics of unconditioned and conditioned anaerobic digested sludge (ADS) biosolids, such as capillary suction time (CST), yield stress, average size and fractal dimensions, were investigated through a CST test, transient and dynamic rheological test and image analysis. The results showed that the optimum polymer dose range was observed when CST or its reciprocal value was employed as an indicator. There were good correlations between the yield stresses determined from both a controlled shear stress test and a strain amplitude sweep test. The yield stress and storage modulus (G) increased as the polymer dose increased in most cases. A frequency sweep test revealed that polymer conditioning could extend the frequency sweep ranges for their elastic behaviors over viscous behaviors as well as the gel-like structure in the linear viscoelastic range. These results implied that more deformation energy was stored in this rigid structure, and that elastic behavior became increasingly dominant with the addition of the polymer in most cases. In addition, both the average sizes and two-dimensional fractal dimensions for conditioned ADS biosolids presented a similar up-climax-down variation trend as the polymer doses increased, whereas the critical polymer doses at the highest average sizes or two-dimensional fractal dimensions, were different. Correlation analysis revealed that the conditioned ADS dewaterability was not correlated with the yield stresses, while the average sizes or the two-dimensional fractal dimensions for conditioned ADS biosolids could be taken as the indication parameters for ADS dewaterability

Assessment of the rheological methods for a correlation to sludge filterability

Biological sludge contains a large quantity of water and the decrease of its content constitutes one of the main issues for wastewater treatment plant operation. Laboratory tests to estimate the sludge dewaterability, i.e., its capability of being dehydrated, have been developed in the past, but there is no evidence of the tests’ direct correlation with the behavior of the real-scale dewatering devices. Different methods (specific resistance to filtration at different pressure, capillary suction time, expression tests, and drying test) have been applied on civil sludge conditioned with ferric chloride/lime or polymer/ferric chloride and results have been compared with operational data obtained from a full scale plant. The results presented in this paper highlight the role of the expression phase in the sludge dewatering using frame filter presses. To predict the sludge behavior and then to optimize the conditioning step, the laboratory procedure used for selecting the chemicals and doses has also to consider the effect of the expression of the cake