Manufacturing applications for alum sludge.

[rooharn]

Anyone having direct experience or knowledge of the processing of alum sludge for either, agricultural, manufacturing or reprocessing?
I would like to hear of your success or difficulties with the handling and material qualitites of Alum sludge.
Kind Regards
Rohan Hine

 

[DeltaCascade]

Try AWWA's web site?

 

[AggieCE]

I don't have an answer, but would like to expand the question. Does anyone have any experience in using a vaccuum sludge drying bed to dry WTP sludge (alum)? I'm looking at the possibility of trying this on a WTP expansion. The plant currently sends all of the sludge to a "lagoon" then to the creek (I'll deny any knowledge of this if pressed ). I'm designing a new clarifier with sludge rakes (the old one doesn't have any) and I'm looking to recover backwash water. I'd like to dewater the sludge but I'm afraid that it won't dry as well as waste water sludge. Any suggestions? Oh, and I'll be very interested in any answers to the original question!

p.s.: this is my first visit to this site and my first post. Cool site!

 

[goodsludge]

You betcha! I have worked for 13 years on their use to bind excessive soil phosphorus at laboratory and full scale - it works. I'm currently collaborating with a major US university on a AWWARF tailored collaboration project that specifically targets this option.

The key is thorough chemical and physical charaterization, using special extractions to determine the materials ability to bind P.

The issue - high soil P contributes to water pollution, eutophication of lakes and estuaries, etc. Using these materials, our goal is to establish a BMP that can become incorprated with new Soil P Indexes as a P sink.

Let me know if you want to discuss further.

 

[rooharn]

May I ask some questions. Do you process material using heat or steam, (if at all)?
What issues have you encountered around the dewatering and crushing of your raw product. What effect do compositional variances have upon your product manufacturing.
Do you use engineered drying processes ie Fluid bed kilns or driers?
Have you investigated the comparable heat treatment processes used for mineral and sand drying?
My questions relate to a desire to make beneficial use of considerable local waste stream of alum and other sludges.
I am investigating broad areas of application from Civil construction material, specialised aggregates, filtration media, ceramics, etc.
I would greatly appreciate any references or information about such applications which you could direct my way.

Please feel free to email me direct: rjhine@optusnet.com.au

Kind Regards
Rohan Hine