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Overview of Fenton pre-treatment of sludge aiming to enhance anaerobic digestion

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Abstract

Availability of the biodegradable matter in wastewater sludge limits the anaerobic digestion (AD) process efficiency. Therefore, sludge pre-treatment is required to increase sludge solid degradability and, in turn, AD efficiency. Advanced oxidation processes, particularly Fenton pre-treatment, are emerging as popular methods aiming to enhance sludge biodegradability. This review summarizes the major findings of Fenton pre-treatment application in sludge disintegration and dewaterability, and elucidates the impacts on both mesophilic and thermophilic digestion. Efforts are made to understand the effect of the Fenton pre-treatment of wastewater sludge on enhancing AD efficiency (increased biogas production and solids reduction) and outline the future research direction. A case study of mass–energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission computations for mesophilic and thermophilic digestion of control (without pre-treatment) and Fenton pre-treatment sludge at different sludge retention times is also illustrated.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Anaerobic digestion

BOD:

Biochemical oxygen demand

CH4 :

Methane

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

CST:

Capillary suction time

ds:

Dissolved solids

DD:

Degree of disintegration

DS:

Dry solids

Fe2+ :

Ferrous ion

GHG:

Greenhouse gases

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

kg:

Kilogram

kW:

Kilowatt

kWh:

Kilowatt hour

mL:

Milliliter

N2O:

Nitrous oxide

NH3 :

Ammonia

ODS:

Organic dry solids

RFF:

Resource for future

SCOD:

Soluble chemical oxygen demand

SCODu :

Soluble COD of untreated sludge

SCODm :

Soluble COD of Fenton pre-treated

SRF:

Specific resistance to filtration

SS:

Suspended solids

VS:

Volatile solids

VSS:

Volatile suspended solids

WAS:

Waste activated solids

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

WWTPs:

Wastewater treatment plants

ΔODS:

Difference of organic dry solids

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Acknowledgments

The authors are sincerely thankful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Grants A4984, Canada Research Chair) for financial support. The views or opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRS Eau, Terre, Environnement, 490, rue de la Couronne, Québec, QC, G1K 9A9, Canada

    Sridhar Pilli, S. Yan & R. D. Tyagi

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, N104 SEC, PO Box 886105, Lincoln, NE, 68588-6105, USA

    R. Y. Surampalli

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  1. Sridhar Pilli
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  4. R. Y. Surampalli
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Correspondence to Sridhar Pilli.

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Pilli, S., Yan, S., Tyagi, R.D. et al. Overview of Fenton pre-treatment of sludge aiming to enhance anaerobic digestion. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 14, 453–472 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-015-9368-4

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