Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock

This study investigates hydrodynamic performance of a novel sludge pretreatment device based on periodic shock wave generation by a hydraulic hammer mechanism. A falling circular jet of thickened waste activated sludge was repeatedly impacted by a rotating blade, resulting in occurrence of hydraulic...

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Main Authors: Sabina Kolbl Repinc, Gašper Rak, Blaž Stres, Uroš Novak, Blaž Likozar, Anže Prašnikar, Marko Blagojevič, Benjamin Bizjan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725000914
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author Sabina Kolbl Repinc
Gašper Rak
Blaž Stres
Uroš Novak
Blaž Likozar
Anže Prašnikar
Marko Blagojevič
Benjamin Bizjan
author_facet Sabina Kolbl Repinc
Gašper Rak
Blaž Stres
Uroš Novak
Blaž Likozar
Anže Prašnikar
Marko Blagojevič
Benjamin Bizjan
author_sort Sabina Kolbl Repinc
collection DOAJ
description This study investigates hydrodynamic performance of a novel sludge pretreatment device based on periodic shock wave generation by a hydraulic hammer mechanism. A falling circular jet of thickened waste activated sludge was repeatedly impacted by a rotating blade, resulting in occurrence of hydraulic shock waves within the liquid region adjacent to the impact. The rotational generator of hydraulic shock (RGHS) treating 10 L of waste activated sludge was operated for 30 liquid passes and at two different rotational speeds producing blade impact velocities of 44 m/s and 70 m/s, respectively. At 70 m/s impact velocity and 30 passes, the device was able to achieve 41.3 % disintegration degree (DD), specific energy consumption (SEC) of 10.4 kWh/kg sCOD released and 9.0 % improvement of produced methane volume over unprocessed sample. Corresponding values for 44 m/s impact regime were DD = 18.7 %, SEC = 8.03 kWh/kg sCOD released and 33.1 % improvement in methane production. In both pretreatment regimes, sludge shear-dependent viscosity was reduced by about 60 %, while physicochemical analysis, FTIR spectra revealed substantial structural changes in WAS, namely median particle size reduction, degradation of proteins and polysaccharides, and microbial cell wall damage, what was notable also on SEM images. Compared to other rotary devices, the novel RGHS can achieve relatively high degree of sludge disintegration while consuming significantly less energy for sludge solubilization, and for methane production enhancement.
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spelling doaj-art-2ac64a071a674027b5d1864c5e64d0ca2025-08-20T03:06:05ZengElsevierUltrasonics Sonochemistry1350-41772025-05-0111610731210.1016/j.ultsonch.2025.107312Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shockSabina Kolbl Repinc0Gašper Rak1Blaž Stres2Uroš Novak3Blaž Likozar4Anže Prašnikar5Marko Blagojevič6Benjamin Bizjan7University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaUniversity of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaUniversity of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaUniversity of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaUniversity of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Aškerčeva cesta 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Corresponding author.This study investigates hydrodynamic performance of a novel sludge pretreatment device based on periodic shock wave generation by a hydraulic hammer mechanism. A falling circular jet of thickened waste activated sludge was repeatedly impacted by a rotating blade, resulting in occurrence of hydraulic shock waves within the liquid region adjacent to the impact. The rotational generator of hydraulic shock (RGHS) treating 10 L of waste activated sludge was operated for 30 liquid passes and at two different rotational speeds producing blade impact velocities of 44 m/s and 70 m/s, respectively. At 70 m/s impact velocity and 30 passes, the device was able to achieve 41.3 % disintegration degree (DD), specific energy consumption (SEC) of 10.4 kWh/kg sCOD released and 9.0 % improvement of produced methane volume over unprocessed sample. Corresponding values for 44 m/s impact regime were DD = 18.7 %, SEC = 8.03 kWh/kg sCOD released and 33.1 % improvement in methane production. In both pretreatment regimes, sludge shear-dependent viscosity was reduced by about 60 %, while physicochemical analysis, FTIR spectra revealed substantial structural changes in WAS, namely median particle size reduction, degradation of proteins and polysaccharides, and microbial cell wall damage, what was notable also on SEM images. Compared to other rotary devices, the novel RGHS can achieve relatively high degree of sludge disintegration while consuming significantly less energy for sludge solubilization, and for methane production enhancement.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725000914Waste activated sludgeHydraulic shockDisintegrationRheologyMethane productionPerformance evaluation
spellingShingle Sabina Kolbl Repinc
Gašper Rak
Blaž Stres
Uroš Novak
Blaž Likozar
Anže Prašnikar
Marko Blagojevič
Benjamin Bizjan
Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
Waste activated sludge
Hydraulic shock
Disintegration
Rheology
Methane production
Performance evaluation
title Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
title_full Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
title_fullStr Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
title_full_unstemmed Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
title_short Pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
title_sort pretreatment of waste activated sludge by rotational generator of hydraulic shock
topic Waste activated sludge
Hydraulic shock
Disintegration
Rheology
Methane production
Performance evaluation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725000914
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