Research advance and application exploration of sludge dewatering flocculants

Abstract

Activated sludge process is one of the most widely used processes for wastewater biological treatment. As the main by-product of activated sludge process，sludge with the high moisture content easily results in various problems such as the difficult transportation，high cost of resource utilization，and low calorific value. Therefore，it is necessary to conduct the sludge dewatering. Flocculation is widely used in sludge dewatering due to its unique advantages including simple operation，fast reaction rate，extensive application scope and excellent dewatering performance. The composition，advantages and disadvantages，and related flocculation mechanisms of various flocculants are introduced in detail. Subsequently，the preparation strategies of various flocculants and their application in sludge dewatering are systematically summarized. Finally，the outlooks of various flocculants on sludge dewatering are presented in order to provide a reference for future research on the application of flocculation technology on sludge dewatering.

Keywords

• sludge dewatering
• chemical conditioning
• flocculation
• combined conditioning technology