The individual alkaline or microwave pretreatment has been proved to be effective in disintegration and acidification of waste activated sludge (WAS). In this study, the effects of combined alkaline and microwave pretreatment at different pH and specific energy input (Es) on WAS disintegration were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Combined pretreatment achieved disintegration degree (DD) of 65.87% at Es of 38,400 kJ/kg TS and pH 11.0. The ANOVA further demonstrated that pH showed more significant effect on DD than Es. Anaerobic batch experiment results showed that combined pretreatment not only significantly improved volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation but also shortened the time for the highest VFAs accumulation. The maximal VFAs accumulation (1500 mg COD/L) obtained at Es of 28,800 kJ/kg TS and fermentation time of 72 h, which was about two times that of the treatment without microwave (850 mg COD/L) at 96 h. The analysis of VFAs composition showed that the VFAs mainly consisted of acetic and iso-valeric acids, accounting for 57.3-70.1% of total VFAs. (C) 2012 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.