Releasing characteristics of phosphorus and other substances during thermal treatment of excess sludge

The releasing characteristics of phosphorus, nitrogen compounds, organics, and some metal cations during thermal treatment of excess sludge were investigated. It was found that during heating not only phosphorus, but also nitrogen compounds, organics, and some metal cations could be released in abundance. The maximum orthophosphate (ortho-P) release of about 90 mg/L in concentration was observed at 50℃ in 1 h. Except for volatile fatty acids (VFAs), comparatively little total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon(TOC), and metal cations were released at the same time. Such results might favor further process of phosphorus recovery. VFAs were considerably released only at 50℃. Acetic, butyric, and propionic acid were the most abundant components in turn and their releasing profiles exhibited good linear relationship with time (R2 = 0.9977, 0.9624, and 0.8908, respectively). The concentrations of Mg2 and K increased with time and temperature during thermal treatment, but Ca2 decreased. The release of Mg2 and K agreed well with TP release (R2 = 0.9892 and 0.9476, respectively). Temperature in the experimental range had very little impact on the linear relationships,especially of Mg2 . Moreover, the parameter of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) was found to be an important factor for thermal sludge treatment as the released ortho-P and total phosphorus (TP) at 50℃ increased more than one-fold when MLSS was increased from 4000 to 8000 mg/L.