Mapping Cellulose Content and Degradability in Water Resource Recovery Facilities: European and North-American Case Studies

Cellulose in municipal wastewater is a potential resource that can be recovered from wastewater through a physical separation . This study aimed at tracking the cellulose contents in the wastewater treatment facilities by collecting samples from two treatment plants in North America and Europe. Cellulose was measured using the gravimetrically-based Schweitzer method. The influent cellulose accounted for 33% and 31% of the TSS for the North American and European plants, respectively. Cellulose was removed more efficiently than TSS in both primary clarification and RBF. The cellulose content of the rotating belt filter (RBF) sludge was 35% of the TSS which was higher than the cellulose content of the primary sludge (17% of the TSS). Cellulose in the biological sludges accounted for 1.4% and 2% of the TSS for North American and European plants, respectively, suggesting that most of the influent cellulose to the secondary treatment was degraded.