WASTEWATER SLUDGE TREATMENT BY ELECTRON BEAM

Sewage sludge is filtered by grills, degritters, primary and secondary sedimentation tanks of wastewater treatment plants. Sewage sludge may contain many pathogens such as giardia, campylobacter, E. coli, salmonella, legionella, as well as various chemical contaminants.

There are multiple methods for sewage sludge treatment developed over the years and applied in various countries, such as incineration, drying and dewatering at fields or in geotextile bags for pathogens elimination. However none of the available methods of sludge treatment allow full utilization of sludge benefits as a natural resource. Sludge is rich in many organic nutrients that can be effectively used to benefit humankind.

The need for incineration has become an option with no alternative due to the lack of land for sludge long term storage for its disinfection. Long term storage of sludge at fields also carries a high risk for groundwater and reservoirs contamination, and becomes a source of stinking odor.

In case of sludge compliance to sanitary standards in terms of heavy metals content, such sludge may undergo antimicrobial treatment by electron beams, and further used as fertilizer in agriculture.

The process of sludge treatment by electron beam irradiation against pathogens and chemical contaminants has high capacity which can be compared with incineration by its speed, and it enables us to get the best out of sludge to the humankind's benefit..

Modules may be installed at wastewater treatment plants, as well as sludge landfills..

It's also worth pointing out that there's no residual radiation in sludge post treatment by electron beam radiation, which makes it completely safe for agriculture application and urban greening.