Title: Sewage sludge minimisation by means of wet oxidation: process performance and economic sustainability

Authors: Giorgio Bertanza; Sabrina Zanaboni; Matteo Canato; Giuseppe Laera; Raniero Galessi

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture, Land, Environment and Mathematics, University of Brescia, via Branze 43, I-25123, Brescia, Italy ' Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 3, I-27100, Pavia, Italy ' Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 3, I-27100, Pavia, Italy ' Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Viale F. De Blasio 5, I-70132, Bari, Italy ' 3V Green Eagle SpA, Piazza Libertà 10, I-24121, Bergamo, Italy

Abstract: Today, several technologies and management strategies are proposed and applied in WWTPs to minimise sludge production and contamination and their techno-economic feasibility has to be carefully evaluated. In this work (which is being conducted within the European Union project 'ROUTES'), based on bench results, a mass balance was drawn for a WWTP (500,000 PE), where it was supposed to install a wet oxidation (WO) stage for sludge minimisation. The design of treatment units and the estimation of capital and operation costs were then performed. Subsequently, a procedure for technical-economic assessment was developed. Basically, this procedure consists in the definition and ranking of several technical (e.g., reliability of the technology, complexity and integration with the existing facilities, amount of residues to be disposed of or recovered, etc.) and economic aspects. Preliminary results have shown WO to be a suitable solution for sludge minimisation.

Keywords: costs; mass balance; ROUTES; techno-economic assessment; wet oxidation; sewage sludge minimisation; process performance; economic sustainability; sustainable development; biological WWTPs; wastewater treatment plants.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2014.061017

International Journal of Global Warming, 2014 Vol.6 No.2/3, pp.234 - 251

Received: 28 Sep 2012
Accepted: 12 Mar 2013
Published online: 02 Jul 2014 *

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