There varying methods of effluent disposal when it comes to water treatment. Some people are overwhelmed by the number of available options thus are unable to choose one. You can undertake the effective disposal of sludge via any of the following methods.
- Dumping into the sea or other varying large water bodies or burial
This method is possible only in instances of cities that are located on the banks of large tidal waters or rivers thus offering a chance for disposal. Sludge elimination in this instance is via the dilution process. Though quite economical, this method is not quite common. This is as it is contingent on water bodies that are sufficient to permit it, being available.
- Shallow burial inside the ground
Wet sludge is run into trenches that are 0.6m deep and 0.9m wide and regularly spaced between 1.5m and 0.9m apart as well as in parallel rows for disposal. Sludge then gets dried to a firm form, it’s then covered with a thin soil layer. After around one month, land gets ploughed up together with powdered lime and is then planted with varying crops. Composting method of disposal is quite useful, but its limitation is the land area needed, approximately 0.84m square per individual.
- Lagooning (sludge lagoons)
This comprises creating earth ponds or tanks of between 0.6m and 1.2m depth, and under-draining them, using 100mm diameter agricultural drains that are spaced at intervals of 2.7m. The bottom of the tanks is covered using a 15cm ashes or clinker layer to prevent unsafe disposal. When you visit any wastewater treatment plant that uses this method, you notice that sludge is then pumped or run in and left to stay there for between 2 and 6 months. When moisture has evaporated or been drained, the contents are then dug out to around half of their initial volume and then utilised as manure. This method is truly cheap, yet its limitation is surely the nuisance and flies that could result from odours during anaerobic decomposition, thus the use of the method is largely restricted to areas that are non-inhabited.
- Mechanical sludge dewatering
In this method, the moisture content of sludge is decreased to around 50% and the volume is reduced to about 20% so as to have an easy disposal. Examples of mechanical dewatering of sludge include vacuum filtration, heat drying, filter-pressing, centrifuging, as well as biological floatation. Sludge cakes could be sold as well as used in the filling of low lands, or they could be mixed with residential refuse and then burnt up inside incinerators. This is also a truly popular method of effluent disposal when it comes to the treatment of wastewater. It is among the foremost methods that are used by modern treatment plants.
In conclusion, the sludge and effluent that results from waste water treatment need to be most appropriately managed and disposed of in accordance with any of the methods that have been listed in this article. This is quite crucial to the maintenance of our health. If managed improperly, there could be a potential outbreak of diseases that are related to poor hygiene, like diarrhoea and cholera. So, use this information in handling wastewater sludge.
