Municipal sludge dewatering using a belt filter press

Abstract

Experiments were performed on alum, anaerobically digested and aerobically digested sludges to determine the optimum polymer conditioning for a belt filter press The optimum polymer dosages for all three zones of a belt filter press were compared with each other to determine the best overall conditioning. The requirements of all three zones of a belt filter press were the same. However, the gravity rate of drainage seems to under predict the dosages for optimum belt filter press performance. In addition the total mixing energy, G (the shear) and t (the mixing time), that represents the laboratory belt filter press was found to be approximately 45,000. Using a mixing energy input of 45,000 and a standard Buchner funnel apparatus the correct polymer dose for the belt filter press can be predicted.