Assessment of the domestic sewage sludge by different drying methods: solar radiation and thermal energy source

The amount and properties of the sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants depend on the composition of the wastewater, the type of wastewater treatment used and the disposal method applied to the mud. The sludge that occurs during mechanical, biological and chemical treatment methods must be subjected to some pre-treatment in terms of both environmental problems and the threat of human health. Sludge samples were taken from the sludge dewatering station, which is the last point of a wastewater treatment plant sludge treatment, and tested in pilot scale hybrid sludge drying system. In the study, drying methods were investigated in the context of urban wastewater treatment plants in Ankara province under the final disposal of sludge from urban wastewater treatment plants. The most suitable solution would be to dry the sewage sludge in Ankara in a hybrid system with solar radiation and thermal energy sources (cogeneration with solar panels) in a system that will provide uninterrupted power to the drying system. This thermal source can be provided from the existing cogeneration system in the plant. Addition of solar panels to the sludge drying system is an important option in order to obtain better efficiency than solar radiation-based drying system.