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Municipal wastewater sludge was produced by chemical coagulation of synthetic wastewater (sww) based on Synthene Scarlet P3GL disperse dye and real municipal wastewater (nww), coagulated by commercial coagulants PAX (prepolymerised aluminum coagulant) and PIX (a ferric coagulant based on Fe2(SO4)3). An attempt was made to correlate the sludge’s dewatering capacity (in terms of capillary suction time—CST) with operation parameters for wastewater treatment, size distribution and specific surface area of the sludge particles. It was found that the presence of phosphate ions in the system facilitates the removal efficiency of the above-mentioned dye (L) due to the interaction between the dye molecules and H2PO4− ions. Unlike sww, negatively charged organic substances (sorg) in nww are directly adsorbed on the surface of colloidal particles {Fe(OH)3} and {Al(OH)3} (prtc). It was also discovered that an increase in the dose of a coagulant led to an increase of CST for sww sludge and to a decrease of CST for nww sludge. It has been suggested that flocs composed of spherical {Al(OH)3} units possessed more internal space for water than aggregates consisting of rod-shaped {Fe(OH)3} units and, consequently, it is more difficult to remove water from Al-sww sludge than from Fe-sww. The results obtained showed that smaller particles dominate in sww sludge, while larger particles are prevalent in nww sludge. To explain this distinct difference in the size distribution of particles in sludge obtained with the use of Al3+ and Fe3+, simple models of aggregation and agglomeration-flocculation processes (aaf) of treated wastewater have been proposed. Except for PIX in nww, the analyzed particles of the investigated types of sludge were characterized by similar specific surface area (Sps), regardless of the kind of sludge or the applied coagulant. Slightly larger, negatively-charged sorg bridges, anchored directly on the surface of positive prtc are more effective in closing the structure of nww sludge than small L bridges of the dye molecules anchored on the surface of prtc via H2PO4−. All the discovered aspects could lead to improved performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) by increasing the efficiency of sludge dewatering.

Electrocoagulation makes an alternative method to chemical coagulation. This paper presents the results obtained during the electrocoagulation of the model wastewater using aluminum electrodes. The wastewater was treated by means of chronopotentiometric electrocoagulation process in a static system, at the constant current I = 0.3 A; therefore higher doses of electrocoagulant required longer electrocoagulation time. Changes in zeta potential, pH, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids and total phosphorus concentrations in the treated wastewater were determined. A new method for determining the optimal dosage of the aluminum electrocoagulant was proposed through application of the third degree polynomial function rather than the parabolic equation. An increase in the electrocoagulant dose raised the share of sweep fl occulation in the studied treatment process, resulting in the effective removal over 90% of phosphorus compounds from the system.

The structure of sludge is closely associated with the process of wastewater treatment. Synthetic dyestuff wastewater and sewage were coagulated using the PAX and PIX methods, and electro-coagulated on aluminium electrodes. The processes of wastewater treatment were supported with an organic polymer. The images of surface structures of the investigated sludge were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The software image analysis permitted obtaining plots log A vs. log P, wherein A is the surface area and P is the perimeter of the object, for individual objects comprised in the structure of the sludge. The resulting database confirmed the ‘self-similarity’ of the structural objects in the studied groups of sludge, which enabled calculating their fractal dimension and proposing models for these objects. A quantitative description of the sludge aggregates permitted proposing a mechanism of the processes responsible for their formation. In the paper, also, the impact of the structure of the investigated sludge on the process of sedimentation, and dehydration of the thickened sludge after sedimentation, was discussed.

a b s t r a c tIn this study, a pilot test of electrocoagulation (EC with aluminium electrodes) of natural municipal wastewater was performed. In view of the obtained results and the unique and innovative nature of the proposed procedures and solutions, EC can be regarded not only as a preliminary purification step, but also as a comprehensive alternative to other wastewater treatment methods. Electrocoagulation was conducted at constant current, and changes in voltage were registered continuously to control and calculate energy consumption. After 2 h (7200 s of EC + 1800 s of additional sludge settling), initial colour (2140-2570 mg/L) was removed in 86-99.5%, turbidity (87.5-149 mg/L) -in 100%, suspended solids (250-340 mg/L) -in 88.5-91%, COD (609-737 mg/L) -in 60.8-63.5%, and phosphorus (10.0-10.7 mg/L) -in 94.5-96%. As expected, a higher electrocoagulant dose at higher energy consumption improved the efficiency of wastewater treatment, but energy consumption was not directly proportional to the treatment efficiencies of electrocoagulated municipal wastewater. The obtained results of sewage purification seem to be promising both economically and technologically. They fulfil Polish standards of effluent quality, except for COD where higher efficiency is required. EC poses a viable alternative to other wastewater treatment methods and should be considered as an initial step in municipal wastewater treatment.