Energy-efficient co-biodrying of dewatered sludge and food waste: Synergistic enhancement and variables investigation.
In this study, dewatered sludge (DS) and food waste (FW) were co-biodried by balancing substrate's property and microbial aspect. A series of experiments were conducted to explore the effects of mixing ratio, particle size of bulking agent, air-flow rate and initial moisture content (MC). A synergistic enhancement of co-biodrying of FW and DS was observed in terms of a stable temperature profile and long high-temperature duration. The biodrying index (water removal/VS consumption) indicated that the co-biodrying had a high efficiency for water removal with less organics consumption, especially for DS/FW=2/2. The small size (<3mm) of bulking agent and initial MC of 62.68% was preferable for the biodrying process by providing adequate free air space and extra carbon source. A moderate air-flow rate of 0.04m(3)h(-1)kg(-1) showed the best water carrying capacity. This finding suggests that the co-biodrying strategy could be a promising approach to treating different organic wastes with synergistic enhancement.
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Linggong Road 2, Dalian 116024, PR China.
Jiao
J
Ma
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Linggong Road 2, Dalian 116024, PR China. Electronic address: zhanglei78@dlut.edu.cn.
Lei
L
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Linggong Road 2, Dalian 116024, PR China. Electronic address: leeam@dlut.edu.cn.
Aimin
A
Li
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003890:Desiccation; D005735:Garbage; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis*; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
D012722:Sewage
Air-flow rate; Co-biodrying; Dewatered sludge; Food waste; Initial moisture content