Effects of ceramsite derived from sewage sludge combined with the O 3 -FeCl 3 /PAM process on the dewatering of waste-activated sludge and investigation of dewatering mechanisms

The high water content of waste-activated sludge restricts the subsequent disposal of sludge. The dehydration properties of O , ferric chloride (FeCl )/polyacrylamide, and sludge ceramsite sand (SCS) were studied. Simultaneously, the effect of combining the three was investigated to support the deep dehydration of waste-activated sludge. Experimental results showed that with13.42 mg/(g dry solids (DS)) of O , 109.89 mg/(g DS) of FeCl , and 100 mesh dosage of 70% DS of sludge ceramsite on weight, the highest sludge net yield was 7.13 kg/(m ·h) and the minimum specific resistance to filtration of sludge cake was 1.02 × 10 (m/kg). Compared with the compressibility of the raw sludge, the compressibility of the sludge cake decreased by 37.48%. Moreover, the Y (net yield) increased by 73.55%. The results demonstrate that the structure of cracking, flocculation, and hydrophobic framework is the mechanism of sludge dewatering in this combined process. This combined treatment process provides a new perspective for the realization of deep dewatering of sludge and is anticipated to be a successful sludge dehydration method.