Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Publication
    Transformation of beneficially reused aluminium sludge to potential P and Al resource after employing as P-trapping material for wastewater treatment in constructed wetland
    (Elsevier, 2011-10-15) ; ;
    The phosphorus (P)-saturated aluminium sludge used as substrate in constructed wetland (CW) for P-rich wastewater treatment was investigated to recover P and Al through chemical precipitations of the P-extraction leachate of the used aluminium sludge. pH plays a key role in such the precipitation processes. The obtained compounds were identified with XRD, FTIR and SEM analyses. The results showed that over 99% PO43− could be recovered as hydroxyapatite by adding calcium chloride at pH of 13. The remaining Al could be fully recovered as amorphous aluminium hydroxide at pH of 7.0 or alternatively as tris(8-hydroxyquinolino)aluminium (Alq3) by adding suitable quantity of 8-hydroxyquinoline. Although the purity, structure, characteristics and production control of the compounds are worthy for further investigation, this study successfully developed a post-treatment methodology for beneficially reused aluminium sludge. The significance of this study is not only transferring aluminium sludge from “waste” to potential P and Al resources but also reducing the environmental risk of final disposal of used aluminium sludge.
    Scopus© Citations 20  700
  • Publication
    Influence of ageing on the structure and phosphate adsorption capacity of dewatered alum sludge
    (Elsevier, 2008-12-15) ; ;
    In line with the increasing studies on the beneficial reuse of alum sludge from a “waste” into useful raw material, this paper reports an in-depth investigation of the effects of ageing time on the structure and the phosphate adsorption capacity of a dewatered alum sludge obtained from a local drinking water treatment plant in Ireland. During the ageing period from 0 day to up to 18 months, the adsorption capacity of the sludge varied from 21.4 to 23.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 4.3, 14.3 to 14.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 7.0 and 0.9 to 1.1 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 9.0, respectively, indicating marginal effect of ageing time on such sludge's ability to adsorb phosphate. This result seems conflict with other studies reported in the literature. To reveal such, series of investigations including physicochemical characterization, morphological structure, BET surface area and porous structure of the aged sludge were carried out. All the results conclusively show that ageing time has insignificant effect on the structure and properties of the dewatered alum sludge and thus the phosphate adsorption capacity of the alum sludge remains insignificant change during the ageing.
    Scopus© Citations 80  1362
  • Publication
    Phosphorus recovery as AlPO 4 from beneficially reused aluminium sludge arising from water treatment
    (Informa UK (Taylor & Francis), 2013-01) ; ;
    The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient and, possibly, a practically operated methodology to recover phosphorus (P) from P-saturated dewatered aluminium sludge cakes (DASC) after the DASC have been beneficially reused as constructed wetlands substrate for P-rich wastewater treatment. A three-step procedure of 1) P extraction by H 2SO 4, 2) decolorization of extraction leachate via H 2O 2 oxidation, and 3) AlPO 4 precipitation by pH adjustment, has been explored. The optimal conditions to form the precipitates of AlPO 4 were determined, with 97% of P and 99% of Al being recovered. The obtained compounds were identified by XRD, FTIR and SEM analyses. Although the purity, structure, characteristics and production control of the compounds are worthy of further investigation, this study provides a showcase of a ‘closed loop’ regarding the beneficial reuse of a ‘waste’ and the recovery of useful elements after the reuse.
    Scopus© Citations 16  553
  • Publication
    Re-use of dewatered aluminium-coagulated water treatment residual to immobilize phosphorus : batch and column trials using a condensed phosphate
    The aluminium content in dewatered aluminium-coagulated water treatment residual (DAC-WTR) can lead to a high phosphorus (P) removal capacity. Therefore, DAC-WTR has been used as adsorbent/soil amendment to remove P in several studies, focusing mostly on orthophosphates (ortho-P). This study is concerned with extending such reuse of DAC-WTR to remove P using a condensed phosphate as the model P source. Using a 48-hr equilibration time and a 1.18mm (mean particle size); (1) P removal was found to increase with increasing DAC-WTR dosage, but specific uptake of P per mass of DAC-WTR was decreased (2) A maximum adsorption capacity of 4.52mg-P/g of DAC-WTR was obtained at a pH of 4.0. In the continuous flow test, P removal efficiency decreased from 90 to 30% when loading was increased from 3.9 to 16.5g-P/m2.d. An average 45% removal efficiency was obtained after an intentional P loading surge. At the end of the continuous flow test, an operating removal capacity of 2.66 mg-P/g of DAC-WTR was determined which was 83.3% of the adsorption maxima obtained in the batch tests. There was no excessive loss of solids during the continuous flow test and aluminium content in the effluent remained below 0.1mg-Al3+/l. These results have demonstrated that dewatered DAC-WTR can further be used as a low-cost adsorbent media for condensed phosphate removal.
    Scopus© Citations 83  1207
  • Publication
    Co-conditioning of the anaerobic digested sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant with alum sludge : benefit of phosphorus reduction in reject water
    (Water Environment Federation, 2007-12) ; ; ;
    In this study, alum sludge was introduced into co-conditioning and dewatering with an anaerobic digested activated sludge to examine the role of the alum sludge in improving the dewaterbility of the mixed sludge and also in immobilizing phosphorus in the reject water. Experiments have demonstrated that the optimal mix ratio for the two sludges is 2:1 (anaerobic digested sludge: alum sludge; volume basis), and this can bring about 99% phosphorus reduction in the reject water through the adsorption of phosphorus by Al in the sludge. The phosphorus loading in wastewater treatment plants is itself derived from the recycling of reject water during the wastewater treatment process. Consequently, this co-conditioning and dewatering strategy can achieve a significant reduction in phosphorus loading in wastewater treatment plants. In addition, the use of the alum sludge can beneficially enhance the dewaterbility of the resultant mixed sludge by decreasing both the SRF and the CST, due to the alum sludge acting as a skeleton builder. Experiments have also demonstrated that the optimal polymer (Superfloc C2260) dose for the anaerobic digested sludge was 120 mg/l while the optimal dose for the mixed sludge (mix ratio 2:1) was 15 mg/l, highlighting a huge saving in polymer addition. Therefore, from the technical perspective, the co-conditioning and dewatering strategy can be viewed as a “win-win” situation. However, for its full-scale application, integrated cost-effective analysis of process capabilities, sludge transport, increased cake disposal, additional administration, polymer saving etc. should be factored in.
    Scopus© Citations 27  2040
  • Publication
    A study of dual polymer conditioning of aluminum-based drinking water treatment residual
    (Taylor & Francis, 2007-01) ; ;
    Conditioning of an alum-based water treatment sludge by single and dual polymers was investigated in this study. Capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and settling rate of conditioned sludge were used to evaluate the sludge dewatering characteristics. Sludge dewaterability resulting from single and dual polymer conditioning were compared for the purpose of exploring the validity and effectiveness of dual polymer conditioning strategy. Unlike activated sludge derived from wastewater treatment, results from this study have demonstrated that conditioning of the alum sludge by the combined use of an cationic polymer (FO-4140) followed by an anionic polymer (LT-25) does not exhibit considerable advantage in further improvement of sludge dewaterability with comparison of single polymer conditioning. This study supports the view that for alum-based water treatment sludge, inter particle bridging seems to be the dominative mechanism and the charge neutralization plays a less important role in the conditioning process. In addition, an intrinsic relationship between CST and SRF was deducted and tested via the experimental data obtained from the study.
      4408Scopus© Citations 21
  • Publication
    Two strategies for phosphorus removal from reject water of municipal wastewater treatment plant using alum sludge
    In view of the well recognized need of reject water treatment in MWWTP (municipal wastewater treatment plant), this paper outlines two strategies for P removal from reject water using alum sludge, which is produced as by-product in drinking water treatment plant when aluminium sulphate is used for flocculating raw waters. One strategy is the use of the alum sludge in liquid form for co-conditioning and dewatering with the anaerobically digested activated sludge in MWWTP. The other strategy involves the use of the dewatered alum sludge cakes in a fixed bed for P immobilization from the reject water that refers to the mixture of the supernatant of the sludge thickening process and the supernatant of the anaerobically digested sludge. Experimental trials have demonstrated that the alum sludge can efficiently reduce P level in reject water. The co-conditioning strategy could reduce P from 597-675 mg P/L to 0.14-3.20 mg P/L in the supernatant of the sewage sludge while the organic polymer dosage for the conditioning of the mixed sludges would also be significantly reduced. The second strategy of reject water filtration with alum sludge bed has shown a good performance of P reduction. The alum sludge has P-adsorption capacity of 31 mg-P/g-sludge, which was tested under filtration velocity of 1.0 m/h. The two strategies highlight the beneficial utilization of alum sludge in wastewater treatment process in MWWTP, thus converting the alum sludge as a useful material, rather than a waste for landfill.
    Scopus© Citations 27  1546
  • Publication
    From "fills" to filter : insights into the reuse of dewatered alum sludge as a filter media in a constructed wetland
    (DesTech Publications, 2007-07) ; ; ;
    Dewatered alum sludge, a by-product of drinking water treatment plants, hitherto consigned to landfills was used to develop a novel bio-filter in form of a constructed wetland. Performance results have demonstrated the benefits of the alum sludge cakes in a lab-scale system in enhancing phosphorus (P) removal from an animal farm wastewater. Although P and organic matter were concurrently removed in the system, there was a probable “one off” release of organics from the system, and this coincided with an increase in inlet P concentration from 39.2 mg-P/l to 163.0 mg-P/l. A conceptual model was then proposed to explain and discuss this.
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