Premium
Variation in and Constraints upon the Decomposition of Woolscour Sludge
Author(s) -
Kroening S. J.,
Greenfield L. G.,
Williamson W. M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2004.1081
Subject(s) - decomposition , flocculation , biodegradation , effluent , pulp and paper industry , grease , wool , polyacrylamide , environmental science , sewage sludge , sewage treatment , chemistry , waste management , environmental engineering , materials science , organic chemistry , polymer chemistry , engineering , composite material
The woolscouring (wool washing) industry has traditionally been viewed as highly polluting and, consequently, effluent treatment systems have been sought. The first stage in the current treatment system for woolscour wastewater, a chemical flocculation process (Sirolan CF), creates a sludge composed of soil and wool grease. We investigated the chemical and biological characteristics of this sludge. The sludge was found to be highly variable on a day to day basis in terms of its chemical composition and biodegradability; 0.8 to 27.8% of sludge total nitrogen was mineralized over 30 d at 37°C. The grease component of sludge (14–40% on a dry weight basis) may retard the decomposition of the sludge but the polyacrylamide flocculant used in its production and its pesticide content had no effect on the rate of decomposition. Our results suggest that variability in substrate quality may translate into variability in treatment performance and have important implications for the biological treatment of industrial wastes, including composting.