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Effect of mixing ratio on sewage sludge and septage co-digestion

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management volume 24, pages 971–979 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Septage, which is made up of liquid and solid materials pumped from septic tanks, can be a potential co-digestion resource for sewage sludge. This study was conducted to evaluate possibility of co-digestion of sewage sludge and septage. Biochemical methane potential tests were performed using primary sludge, secondary sludge and septage. The mixing ratio of the septage ranged from 30% to 62% (by volatile solid wt.) based on the typical ratio of the septage transported to municipal WWTP plants and the sewage sludge generated in the plants. The co-digestion of sewage sludge and septage showed synergistic effects on the methane potential due to the enhanced C/N ratio. The observed methane potential of co-digestion substrate was 8–16% higher than the predicted value based on weighted average of mono-digestion substrate's methane potentials. The maximum synergistic effect on methane potential was observed when 42% (by volatile solid wt.) of the septage was co-digested. In conclusion, the septage can be a suitable resource for co-digestion with sewage sludge.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Science and Technology Support Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (NRF-2019K1A3A9A01000029). The authors appreciate the technical support from BrainKorea21 Four research program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Institute of Construction and Environmental Engineering at Seoul National University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Changmin Lee & Jae Young Kim

  2. Institute of Construction and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Xin Zhao

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  1. Changmin Lee
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Correspondence to Jae Young Kim.

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Lee, C., Zhao, X. & Kim, J.Y. Effect of mixing ratio on sewage sludge and septage co-digestion. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 24, 971–979 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01372-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01372-2

Keywords

  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Co-digestion
  • Septage
  • Sewage sludge
  • Synergistic effect