Analysis of briquetting process of sewage sludge with coal to combustion process

AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Mechanical and Robotics, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Cracow, Poland

^a Corresponding author: kostur@agh.edu.pl

Abstract

Energy recovery from sewage sludge can be achieved by several thermal technologies, but before those processes sewage sludge requires special pretreatment. The paper presents the investigation of the sewage sludge with coal briquettes as a fuel for combustion process. Research is conducted at Department of Manufacturing Systems and Department of Thermal Engineering and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology to develop a technology of briquette preparation. The obtained results showed possibility of briquetting of municipal sewage sludge with coal in roll presses, equipped with asymmetric thickening gravity feed system. The following properties were determined for the obtained briquettes: density, drop strength and compressive strength. Based on physical and chemical analysis of prepared briquettes it was confirmed that briquettes have good fuel properties to combustion process. Thermal behaviour of studied sewage sludge and prepared mixture was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG). For the thermo gravimetric analysis (TG) the samples were heated in an alumina crucible from an ambient temperature up to 1000 °C at a constant rates: 10 °C/min, 40 °C/min and 100 °C/min in a 40 ml/min flow of air.