The effects of aging for improving wastewater sludge electro-dewatering performances

The effects of sludge aging on improving sludge electro-dewatering (SED) performance were studied, with the sludge properties variation during aging process investigated. Sludge electro-dewatering performances were explored by constant voltage method (25 V) on various samples. The organic matter in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was gradually consumed and decomposed during sludge aging process. Under identical electro-dewatering conditions, dewaterability and time-space yield of aged sludge achieved 49.33% solid content and 223.46 kg m−2 h−1 respectively. Such results indicate the beneficial effects of sludge aging process in terms of SED performances, which needs further exploration into fundamental mechanisms.