Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.94, No.7, 1285-1294, 2016
Continuous-flow microwave enhanced oxidation process for treating sewage sludge
The microwave-enhanced advanced oxidation (MW/H2O2-AOP) treatment of sewage sludge in a continuous-flow 915MHz microwave system was studied. A higher H2O2 dosage at the same flow rate resulted in better solids disintegration in terms of higher soluble chemical oxygen demand. The highest soluble chemical oxygen demand concentration of 5174mg/L was obtained at a dosage of 0.005 L/L (0.5 % v/v). A higher soluble chemical oxygen demand was obtained at a higher flow rate with the same H2O2 dosage. A substantial amount of soluble phosphorus (over 60% of total phosphorus content) was produced for all treatments, regardless of H2O2 dosage. A first-order reaction kinetics of soluble chemical oxygen demand was proposed in this study. Real-time energy consumption corresponding to performance efficacy, which provides a realistic assessment of the process efficiency, was calculated. Energy consumption was found to vary between 0.22-0.29kWh/L of sludge treated. The results demonstrated that a continuous-flow 915MHz microwave system resulted in high treatment efficiency in terms of nutrient release, solids disintegration, and low energy consumption, which is suitable for real-time industrial applications.