title: How can sludge dewatering devices be assessed? Development of a new DSS and its application to real case studies.
abstract: A key issue in biological Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) operation is represented by the sludge management. Mechanical dewatering is a crucial stage for sludge volume reduction; though, being a costly operation, its optimization is required. We developed an original experimental methodology to evaluate the technical (dewatering efficiency) and financial (total treatment costs) performance of dewatering devices, which might be used as a DSS (Decision Support System) for WWTP managers. This tool was then applied to two real case studies for comparing, respectively, three industrial size centrifuges, and two different operation modes of the same machine (fixed installation vs. outsourcing service). In both the cases, the best option was identified, based jointly on economic and (site-specific) technical evaluations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, via Branze 43, I-25123 Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: giorgio.bertanza@ing.unibs.it.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bertanza
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, via Branze 43, I-25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.affiliation: DICAr, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canato
authors.affiliation: DICAr, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Collivignarelli
authors.affiliation: DIMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pedrazzani
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D014867:Water
keywords: Cost; Decision support systems; Performance; Sewage sludge dewatering; Wastewater