Minimization of municipal sewage sludge by means of a thermophilic membrane bioreactor with intermittent aeration

The increase of sewage sludge production together with the high treatment and disposal costs in the last years has pushed to study different solutions aimed at sludge minimization. In this paper, the thermophilic membrane technology was evaluated as an alternative for municipal sewage sludge reduction. The experimentation (carried out by means of a pilot scale plant, 1 m(3) volume) was divided into two steps: the first one was aimed at confirming the results obtained in a previous research focused on industrial sludge treatment; the second step was devoted to define the best process conditions (in particular the optimization of the aeration phases) and to the chemical permeate characterization. The results of the experiments highlight that the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and aeration conditions play a crucial role on the overall process performance. The volatile suspended solids removal efficiency was greater than 80% under the following conditions: HRT even lower than 15 d; 2 h of aeration - 6 h of non aeration cycles; and organic loading rate of 2.0 kgCOD m(-3) d(-1). The permeate showed a good biodegradability under mesophilic conditions thus being treatable by means of conventional biological processes. Moreover, ammonia (the permeate presenting high concentrations) could be recovered as a fertilizer (stripping and subsequent washing of the exhausted gas is an established technique). Finally, the ammonia-free permeate can be valorised as a carbon source in denitrification processes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.