Alain Lienard

Treatment of septage in sludge drying reed beds: a case study on pilot-scale beds

French legislation requires the control of private on-site sanitation systems by local authorities. This will result in a large increase of the quantity of sludge from septic tanks to be treated. Nevertheless, large wastewater treatment plants are not systematically able to treat this sludge because they may have reached their nominal load or they are not so numerous in rural zone to avoid too long transportation. The study concerns both the feasibility of sludge reed beds devoted to the treatment of septage and the assessment of a simultaneous treatment with aerated sludge. The experiments have been carried out on eight pilot-scale drying reed beds (2 m(2)) planted with Phragmites australis. Two filtration layers of either vegetal compost or sand were tested. The study is focused on the commissioning period (first vegetative year) with a loading rate of 30 kg SS m(-2) yr(-1). According to these operational conditions, dewatering efficiencies reached approx. 30% DM during summer but less than 20% DM in winter for each filtration layer and sludge. High removal efficiencies, with an average of 96%, 92% and 89% for SS, COD and TKN respectively, were achieved with septage whereas they were lower for the mixture of aerated sludge and septage. The dewaterability of septage and its filtration behaviour were assessed by several parameters (Capillary Suction Time, bound water) which may be some interesting tools for an optimised loading strategy.

Sludge drying reed beds : full and pilot scale study for activated sludge treatment

Sludge drying reed beds have been used for dewatering and mineralization of sludge since the beginning of the 90s, but their insufficient performances in terms of Dry Matter [DM] content and mineralization of the sludge have made necessary new studies. Therefore, 8 pilots of 2 m2 each and a full-scale plant (13,000 p.e, 8 beds of 470 m2 in operation for 4 years) have been monitored to examine the influence of the sludge loading rate, the sludge quality and the loading frequency on the dewatering and mineralization efficiencies. Two filtration layers and two loading rhythms were tested on pilots which were fed at a loading rate of 25-30 kg DM m(-2) yr(-1) during the first year of operation (commissioning period). Hydraulic behaviour (infiltration rate, outflow), O2 and CO2 relative concentrations in the filtration media, redox potential, pollutants removal and dry matter content were assessed during all the study. The rheological quality of the extracted sludge from full scale beds was assessed and showed that its mechanical behaviour exceed those of sludge of comparable dry matter content, making its spreading easier. Therefore, this sludge could easily claim the status of solid and stabilized sludge according to the French regulation. Design and management recommendations (number of beds, loading rates, feeding/rest period) gained from the experiments results are suggested.