Reuse of dewatered sewage sludge conditioned with skeleton builders as landfill cover material

High water and organic content of sewage sludge constricts its reuse and disposal. It is often necessary to solidify/stabilize the dewatered sludge with solidifying agents before landfill disposal. In this study, the sewage sludge was conditioned with skeleton builders, i.e., fly ash and lime combined with ferric chloride for the purpose of improving the dewatering efficiency. The dewatered sewage sludge was then directly reused as landfill cover materials since the skeleton builders also play a role in solidification of sludge. The geotechnical properties of the dewatered sewage sludge were investigated. The results show that the plasticity index of the dewatered sludge increases compared to that of the dewatered sludge without any conditioner, and the permeability coefficient changes from 10(-8) to 10(-5) cm s(-1). Furthermore, the strength of specimens increase with curing days. Microstructure analyses reveal that the main hydrated products are calcium silicate hydrate and ettringite, which contribute to the solidification/stabilization of the dewatered sludge. The results indicate that the dewatered sewage sludge conditioned with skeleton builders can be used as landfill covers. This study provides an alternative for traditional sewage sludge treatment and disposal.