Carbonate sludge as a nanostructured material for environmental engineering

Abstract

The behaviour features of carbonate sludge which are a waste of water treatment process were studied in aqueous and oil environment. Based on the analysis of images of carbonate sludge particles in liquid media made by laser scanning confocal microscopes, the existence of nanostructures of various chemical compositions having several hundred nanometers in size, both single and forming porous conglomerate structures with a developed surface was revealed. The existence of such fragmentation of fine carbonate sludge powder particles in liquid media suggests that the mechanism of action of sludge additives is similar to that of nanoparticles. It was shown that the waste of the water treatment can be used as a cheap and environmentally friendly nanostructured material for industrial and environmental engineering, in particular, to improve the properties of hydrocarbon fuels. If necessary, the effect of carbonate sludge can be enhanced by changing its composition at the coagulation stage or by adding other nanoparticles. The data on the composition and texture characteristics of used sludge were given.