title: Enhancement of bioseparation and dewaterability of domestic wastewater sludge by fungal treated dewatered sludge.
abstract: A promising biological, sustainable, non-hazardous, safe and environmental friendly management and disposal technique of domestic wastewater sludge is global expectation. Fungal entrapped biosolids as a result of prior fungal treated raw wastewater sludge was recycled to evaluate its performance as inoculum for bioseparation/bioconversion of supplemented sludge in view of continuous as well as scale up wastewater sludge treatment. Encouraging results were achieved in bioseparation of suspended solids and in dewaterability/filterability of treated domestic wastewater sludge. Fungal entrapped biosolids offered 98% removal of total suspended solids (TSS) in supplemented sludge treatment at 6-day without nutrient (wheat flour, WF) supply. Consequently, 99% removal of turbidity and 87% removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) were achieved in supernatant of treated sludge. The lowest value (1.75 x 10(12)m/kg) of specific resistance to filtration (SRF) was observed at 6-day after treatment, which was equivalent to the 70% decrease of SRF. The all results except SRF were not influenced further in treatments accompanied with WF supplementation. The present treatments offered significant (P<or=0.01) improvement in all results except SRF of treated wastewater sludge compared to the control. Furthermore, the present result is addressing a potential avenue of probable solution for expected management and disposal of domestic wastewater sludge in future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor DE, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ahmadun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fakhru'l-Razi
authors.forename: Abul Hossain
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Molla
mesh_terms: D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods*; D005658:Fungi; D010100:Oxygen; D012722:Sewage; D014867:Water; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014867:Water; D010100:Oxygen