Should Thermal Hydrolysis be Considered as Part of the Biosolids Management Plan at Your Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant?

The objective of this paper is to present a discussion on the treatability and costs for using thermal hydrolysis to lyse biosolids generated by the treatment of industrial wastewater. Thermal hydrolysis was tested on biosolids produced from the treatment of wastewater from the manufacturer of nutritional products. The biosolids tested had a 12% TS concentration after dewatering with a belt filter press. The dewatered sludge was subjected to thermal hydrolysis at 175°C for 30 minutes. Thermal hydrolysis resulted in a 49% decrease in the TS concentration and an increase in the soluble COD. Anaerobic treatability tests of the thermally hydrolysed sample showed an 11-fold increase in biogas compared to the biosolids sample prior to dewatering.