Enhancement of digestion through microwave pretreatment

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Microwave Pretreatment of Waste Activated Sludge to Enhance Its Anaerobic DigestionRecent and current work has focused on microwave (MW) pretreatment of biological solids produced in wastewater treatment processes to render them more amenable to anaerobic digestion which reduces the quantity of residual solids for ultimate disposal on the land or for incineration.The work proposed is a continuation of the previous work based on the demonstrated improvements that were achieved with MW pretreatment temperatures up to 100oC. Higher temperatures and a wider variety of pretreatment conditions will be studied in the current research to maximize the digestion efficiency (both the rate of digestion and the ultimate amount of digestion that can be achieved) after pretreatment. More basic research will be conducted to understand MW induced transformations to exploit their potential for digestion improvement.The benefits of the technology include stability of process operation, greater pathogen reduction, higher biogas (methane) yield, lower solids production, and improved sludge dewaterability resulting in a technology that is more economical, easier to operate, and less harmful to the environment. Biogas is able to be captured from anaerobic digestion at a wastewater treatment plant. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and reduction of contamination of natural waters occurs through improved digestion of waste solids. Anaerobic digestion is commonly used around the world.