LAPPEENRANTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Technology
Master’s Degree Programme in Energy Technology

Ivan Deviatkin

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DEINKING SLUDGE

UTILIZATION POSSIBILITIES FOR ENERGY AND MATERIAL
RECOVERY IN THE LENINGRAD REGION

Examiners: Professor Mika Horttanainen

D.Sc. (Tech.)

Supervisors: M.Sc. (Tech.) Asta Kujala

ABSTRACT

Lappeenranta University of Technology

Faculty of Technology
Master’s Degree Programme in Energy Technology

Ivan Deviatkin

Wastewater Treatment and Deinking Sludge Utilization Possibilities for Energy and
Material Recovery in the Leningrad Region

Master’s thesis 2013

111 pages, 32 figures, 18 tables and 6 appendices

Examiners: Professor, D. Sc. (Tech.) Mika Horttanainen

M.Sc. (Tech.) Asta Kujala

Keywords: Wastewater treatment sludge, deinking sludge, pulp and paper industry, energy
recovery, material recovery.

Operation of pulp and paper mills generates waste including wastewater treatment sludge and
deinking sludge. Both sludge types are generated in large amounts and are mainly disposed of
in landfills in the Leningrad Region resulting in environmental degradation.

The thesis was aimed at seeking new sustainable ways of sludge utilization. Two paper mills
operating in the Leningrad Region and landfilling their sludge were identified: “SCA Hygiene
Products Russia” and “Knauf”. The former generates 150 t/day of deinking sludge, the latter –
145 t/day of secondary sludge.

Chemical analyses of deinking sludge were performed to assess applicability of sludge in

construction materials production processes. Higher heating value on dry basis of both sludge
types was determined to evaluate energy potential of sludge generated in the Leningrad
Region.

Total energy output from sludge incineration was calculated. Deinking sludge could be
utilized in the production process of “LSR-Cement” or “Slantsy Cement Plant Cesla”
factories, and “Pobeda” and “Nikolsky” brick mills without exceeding current sludge
management costs.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Once started in October, With greatest size sincerety,

While being an exchange, And heart, full of respect,

The story of my thesis Professsor Horttanainen,

Has finishes month the same I want to thankyou you!

(But only year later, For sharing your knowledge

After the year twelve). And efforts you have spent.

That time has flown faster, Isyanov Lev and Lena

Than someone can expect. From /ɛs//tiː//juː//piː//piː/,

This always happens here, My deepest credibility

At space of LUT. Now goes straight to you.

For my well being here The last in list of people

I want to bestow them: I show my gratitude,

Asta Kujala (Kaarin) But not the last important

For giving right a way I say big thank to you,

And numerous comments My darling lovey-dovey!

You made to thesis mine.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .....................................................................................................8

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................9

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... 12

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................14

1.1 Background ................................................................................................................14

1.2 Statement of the problem ........................................................................................... 15

1.3 Objectives of the study ............................................................................................... 15

1.4 Assumptions and delimitations ..................................................................................16

2 PROPERTIES AND AMOUNTS OF SLUDGE GENERATED AT PULP

AND PAPER MILLS .......................................................................................................17

2.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation ...................................................................17

2.2 Deinking sludge generation........................................................................................ 19

2.3 Sludge properties ........................................................................................................19

2.4 Amounts of sludge produced ..................................................................................... 23

3 PRETREATMENT METHODS OF SLUDGE ................................................................ 25

3.1 Thickening..................................................................................................................25

3.2 Conditioning...............................................................................................................26

3.3 Dewatering .................................................................................................................27

3.3.1 Centrifuge ...........................................................................................................28

3.3.2 Belt filter- press ..................................................................................................29

 3.3.3 Screw press .........................................................................................................30

3.3.4 Chamber filter-press ........................................................................................... 31

3.4 Drying ........................................................................................................................ 32

3.4.1 Rotary dryer ........................................................................................................33

3.4.2 Fluidized bed dryer ............................................................................................. 34

3.4.3 Multiple hearth dryer .......................................................................................... 35

3.5 Summary of pretreatment methods ............................................................................36

4 ENERGY RECOVERY ....................................................................................................38

4.1 Incineration ................................................................................................................40

4.1.1 Grate type boiler .................................................................................................42

4.1.2 Fluidized bed boiler ............................................................................................ 43

4.1.3 Rotary kiln ..........................................................................................................45

4.1.4 Multiple hearth furnace ....................................................................................... 46

4.2 Gasification ................................................................................................................47

4.2.1 Plasma gasification ............................................................................................. 48

4.2.2 Supercritical water gasification ..........................................................................49

4.3 Supercritical water oxidation ..................................................................................... 50

4.4 Pyrolysis ..................................................................................................................... 51

4.5 Direct liquefaction ......................................................................................................52

4.6 Anaerobic digestion ...................................................................................................53

4.7 Comparison of waste-to-energy technologies ............................................................ 54

5 MATERIAL RECOVERY ............................................................................................... 56

5.1 Cement clinker ...........................................................................................................56

5.2 Ceramic products .......................................................................................................60

5.3 Pozzolanic material ....................................................................................................62

5.4 Cement mortar ............................................................................................................65

5.5 Lightweight aggregate ................................................................................................ 65

5.6 Insulating material ......................................................................................................67

5.7 Fiberboard ..................................................................................................................70

5.8 Use in limekiln ...........................................................................................................72

5.9 Review of material recovery possibilities ..................................................................74

6 LEGISLATION IN RUSSIA ............................................................................................ 75

7 PULP AND PAPER COMPANIES OF THE LENINGRAD REGION .......................... 78

7.1 “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”, Svetogorsk ........................................................... 78

7.1.1 Deinking sludge generation process ...................................................................79

7.1.2 Analyses of deinking sludge ...............................................................................80

7.2 “International Paper”, Svetogorsk ..............................................................................83

7.2.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process ...............................................83

7.3 “Knauf”, Kommunar ..................................................................................................84

7.3.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process ...............................................85

7.3.2 Analyses of sludge .............................................................................................. 87

7.4 “Syassky pulp and paper mill”, Syas’ ........................................................................88

 7.4.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process ...............................................88

7.5 Preliminary conclusions of pulp and paper companies ..............................................90

8 ENERGY AND MATERIAL RECOVERY POSSIBILITIES IN THE

LENINRGAD REGION ...................................................................................................91

8.1 Energy recovery .........................................................................................................91

8.2 Material recovery .......................................................................................................94

8.2.1 Cement production .............................................................................................. 94

8.2.2 Ceramic bricks ....................................................................................................96

9 TRANSPORTATION OF SLUDGE ................................................................................97

10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 99

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 100

APPENDIX I. Clarifier. ...................................................................................................112

APPENDIX II. Flotation unit. ........................................................................................... 113

APPENDIX III. Gravity table. ............................................................................................ 114

APPENDIX IV. Belt thickener. .......................................................................................... 115

APPENDIX V. Comparison of material recovery possibilities. ........................................116

APPENDIX VI. Map of the Leningrad Region. .................................................................119

APPENDIX VII. Calculation of flue gases. .........................................................................120

 8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AC Ash Content
AD Anaerobic Digestion
BAT Best Available Techniques
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand
CFBB Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
DL Direct Liquefaction
DS Deinking sludge
DSC Dry Solids Content
FBB Fluidized Bed Boiler
FL Federal Law
IPPC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
LR Leningrad Region
MC Moisture Content
MHF Multiple Hearth Furnace
PPI Pulp and Paper Industry
RCF Recycled Fibre
SCWG Supercritical Water Gasification
SCWO Supercritical Water Oxidation
StE Sludge-to-Energy
TSS Total Suspended Solids
WtE Waste-to-Energy
WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant
WWTS Wastewater Treatment Sludge
 9

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Percent distribution of sludge types produced by PPI plants. (Bird &
Talberth, 2008; Boni, et al., 2003)....................................................................18

Figure 2. Relationship between the DCS and rheological properties of sludge.

(Degremont, 2007, p. 1275).................................................................................23

Figure 3. Stages of sludge handling process. (combined from Degremont, 2007;

Diagileva, et al., 2012; Hynninen, 1998, p. 115; Garg, 2009)............................. 26

Figure 4. Centrifuge. (Degremont, 2007). ..........................................................................28

Figure 5. Belt filter-press. (Komline-Sanderson, 2010) ..................................................... 29

Figure 6. Screw press. (Organo Corporation, 2002) ........................................................... 30

Figure 7. Chamber filter-press. (Lenntech, 2013) ............................................................... 32

Figure 8. Rotary dryer. (GEA Process Engineering, 2013) ................................................33

Figure 9. Horizontal multiple-chamber continuous fluid bed drying and cooling

system. (Kurimoto, 1997) .................................................................................... 34

Figure 10. Multiple hearth dryer. (Adelaide Control Engineering, 2013) ............................ 35

Figure 11. Comparison of pretreatment methods regarding initial and final DSC of
sludge generated in PPI. ...................................................................................... 37

Figure 12. Sludge management options in practice. Average between CEPI

countries in 2003. (CEPI, 2004b) ........................................................................39

Figure 13. Energy recovery options for DS and WWTS. (modified from Xu &
Lancaster, 2012) ..................................................................................................40

Figure 14. Tanner’s diagram for residues generated in paper industry (European
commission, 2001). ............................................................................................. 41
 10

Figure 15. Fluidized bed boiler. (Power Technology, 2012) ................................................43

Figure 16. Rotary kiln. (Eisenmann, 2013)...........................................................................45

Figure 17. Multiple hearth furnace. (European commission, 2006) ....................................46

Figure 18. Simplified flowchart of the “Verena” pilot plant. (Boukis, et al., 2002)............49

Figure 19. Flowchart of the SCWO pilot plant. (Gidner, et al., 2001). ................................ 50

Figure 20. Outline of direct liquefaction process. (Xu & Lancaster, 2008) ......................... 52

Figure 21. Comparison of WtE technologies. .......................................................................55

Figure 22. Flow-chart of cement production process with sludge addition.

(Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993) ..........................................................................59

Figure 23. Flow-chart of pozzolan material production from DS. (Hundebol, 1994) ..........64

Figure 24. Flow-chart of lightweight aggregate production. (modified from Liaw, et

al., 1998) ..............................................................................................................66

Figure 25. Production of flakes-like insulating material. (modified from Cavaleri &
Contu, 2011). .......................................................................................................68

Figure 26. Production of raw construction mixture for manufacturing of insulating

material. (Morozova & Shargatov, 2001) ............................................................ 69

Figure 27. Production of insulating material from granulated DS. (Zvyagina &
Pushnoy , 1996) ...................................................................................................70

Figure 28. Softboard production process with DS addition. (Baibarisov, et al., 1994) ........71

Figure 29. Flow-chart of wastewater and sludge treatment at “SCA Hygiene Products
Russia” factory. ...................................................................................................79

Figure 30. Flow-chart of wastewater and sludge treatment at “International Paper”

mill. ...................................................................................................................... 84
 11

Figure 31. Secondary sludge generation process at “Knauf” factory. ..................................86

Figure 32. Sludge generation processes at “Syassky pulp and paper mill”. ......................... 89
 12

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Composition of sludge from various pulp and paper processes (bark
composition is given for comparison). (Dahl, 2008; Abubakr, et al., 1995;
Gottsching, 2000) ................................................................................................ 20

Table 2. Heavy metals content in different sludge types (bulk municipal solid
waste composition is given for comparison). (Valkenburg C et al, 2008;
Monte, et al., 2009).............................................................................................. 21

Table 3. Deinking sludge ash analysis. (CANMET. Energy technology centre,

2005) .................................................................................................................... 22

Table 4. Total amounts of sludge generated in several pulping and papermaking

processes. (modified from Dahl, 2008; Xu & Lancaster, 2012).......................... 23

Table 5. Amounts of primary sludge generated depending on the product being

produced. (modified from Dahl, 2008). ............................................................... 24

Table 6. Sewage sludge composition and heating value in Psittalia. (modified

from Mountouris, et al., 2008) .............................................................................48

Table 7. Raw meal analysis. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993) ..........................................60

Table 8. Chemical composition of DS used in ceramics production. (modified

from Treschev , et al., 2007) ................................................................................61

Table 9. Ceramic mass composition and properties of ready material. (modified

from Treschev , et al., 2007) ................................................................................62

Table 10. Composition of sludge used for lightweight aggregate production (Liaw,
et al., 1998). .........................................................................................................66

Table 11. Optimal temperature of calcination process depending on inert additives

content. (Nepenin, 1990, p. 510) .........................................................................72
 13

Table 12. Composition of lime sludge fed into the limekiln. (Milovidova, et al.,
2010, p. 108) ........................................................................................................73

Table 13. Heating value of sludge sampled at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”. ..............80

Table 14. Chemical composition of sludge sampled at “SCA Hygiene Products

Russia”. ................................................................................................................82

Table 15. Composition of primary sludge generated at “Knauf” factory. ........................... 85

Table 16. Properties of secondary sludge generated at “Knauf” factory. ............................ 87

Table 17. Characteristics of GF and FBB for incineration of both DS generated at

“SCA Hygiene Products Russia” and WWTS generated at “Knauf”. .................93

Table 18. Economic evaluation of sludge management based on transportation

costs over one year timeframe. ............................................................................98
 14

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The rate of goods consumption has increased in past and is expected to be rising in the future,
especially in developing countries like BRIC1 and VISTA2 countries. Some of the products
being consumed comprise an essential part of people’s everyday life. Paper, especially tissue
one, as well as cardboard and pulp, are examples of such products. Production of pulp in
Europe was slightly increasing over the period of 1991-2011, while the production of paper
and cardboard in European countries increased by 50% over the same period (Confederation
of European Paper Industries, 2011). The production of pulp, paper and cardboard has grown
in the Russian Federation as well (Federal State Statistics Service, 2013).

The production processes result in waste generation. In 2005, 11 million tonnes of solid
waste, including 7.7 million tonnes of waste from recycled fibre (RCF) processing was
generated during the production of 99.3 million tonnes of paper in Europe (Monte, et al.,
2009). 15.2 million tonnes of pulp, paper, and board were produced in Russia in 2011
(Khasanova, 2012). Meanwhile, about 25% of all solid wastes generated in PPI and directed
to landfills are wastewater treatment sludge (WWTS) and deinking sludge (DS) (Vuoristo,
2012).

Since 22 August 2012, the Russian Federation has been a member of the World Trade
Organization (World trade organization, 2012) and, thus, to increase competitiveness of pulp
and paper products produced in Russia on the international market level companies need to
get certified to ISO 14001:2004 (Specialized Expertise Unit on Environmental Safety, 2012).

Nowadays, Russian legislation faces changes related to the environment and, thus, “Basics of
state policy in the field of environmental development of Russia by 2030” were approved by
the Russian President on April 30, 2012. (Russian Government, 2012) Relying on the chapter

1
BRIC – an acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
2
VISTA – an acronym that refers to the countries of Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Argentina.
 15

15 of the document, one of the mechanisms to ensure environmentally safe waste

management is “phased implementation of the ban on landfilling of waste that have not been
separated, mechanically or chemically treated, and waste that could be used as secondary raw
materials (scrap-metal, paper, packaging materials, car tires, etc. )”. As it comes from the
document, companies should seek for new ways to treat their waste materials before
landfilling.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Being implemented many years ago, the waste management system in Russian companies is
characterized with priority to waste landfilling rather than waste recovering. Nowadays,
WWTS and DS are mostly landfilled in the Leningrad region. Exceptions are the cases where
companies had suitable facilities and enough financial resources to implement sludge
incineration. On contrary, approximately 96% of WWTS and 88% of DS are recovered in
Finland and that is very positive experience towards sustainable development (Forest
industries, 2008).

The problem of low sludge recovery rate is caused by absence of suitable equipment and
finances, as well as by the lack of reliable information on sludge recycling technologies.
Therefore, implementation of the study related to estimation of energy potential of sludge and
its possible application in construction materials production could be used as a platform to
switch from the waste management system where sludge in mainly landfilled to more
sustainable ways of sludge utilization successfully applied in developed countries.

1.3 Objectives of the study

Subjects of the waste management, energy technology and sustainable development are linked
within the thesis. When considering waste management, legislation aspects and waste
treatment technologies will be reviewed. With the increasing demand on alternative energy
sources, most feasible ways, as well as innovative ones, to get energy from WWTS and DS,
including combustion, will be covered. Technologies required for sludge pretreatment before
incineration will be discussed in the study as well.
 16

Finally, the aim of the thesis is to show energy potential of WWTS and DS from pulp and
paper industry (PPI) plants located in the Leningrad Region and technologies allowing energy
recovery. In addition, applicability of DS and WWTS in construction materials production
will be assessed. Energy potential calculations and selection of the construction material
production process will be based on sludge properties and composition gained experimentally.
Legislation aspects of sludge, as waste material, management will be included. Finally,
transportation cost estimations will be given in the study.

1.4 Assumptions and delimitations

In any case, according to Bird (2008), during the operation of PPI plants, next types of solid
waste are generated:

 Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) residuals, including WWTS and DS;

 Boiler and furnace ash;
 Causticizing residues which include lime mud, lime slaker grits and green
liquor dregs;
 Wood yard debris;
 Pulping and paper mill rejects.

However, the study scope does not cover other waste materials generated at PPI plants than
WWTS and DS.

No possibilities to construct new facilities for sludge utilization will be examined, but only
those already existing in the Leningrad Region. What relates to energy recovery option, some
parameters are taken from literature sources and are assumptions.
 17

2 PROPERTIES AND AMOUNTS OF SLUDGE GENERATED AT

PULP AND PAPER MILLS

Various solid wastes and sludge are generated in the PPI at different production processes.
Treatment of wastewater generated at pulping, papermaking, and deinking processes is the
main source of WWTS and DS. WWTS is the largest waste stream generated at PPI plants by
volume (Bird & Talberth, 2008). Composition and amount of sludge are strongly influenced
by paper grade being produced, raw materials used by the process, the production and
wastewater treatment technologies, as well as the paper quality (Monte, et al., 2009; Abubakr,
et al., 1995).

2.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation

Most commonly, a treatment plant includes both primary and secondary treatment stages
installed one after another. The former is based on the sedimentation process mainly, but also
can be implemented by a flotation method, the latter one is based on biological treatment
preformed in either aerobic lagoons, activated sludge systems, anaerobic treatment or
sequential biological treatment (aerobic-anaerobic or anaerobic-aerobic) systems. Moreover,
tertiary treatment can take place in addition to the above mentioned treatment stages in
countries with tight environmental regulations. (Bahar, et al., 2011; Abubakr, et al., 1995)

During the primary process, about 80% of total suspended solids (TSS) contained in
wastewater entering the treatment process are transferred to WWTS (United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 2004; Monte, et al., 2009). Inorganic part of WWTS is
mainly present in the form of sand, while organic part is present as bark, fibre or other wood
residuals.

During the biological treatment, soluble organic materials are converted to carbon dioxide,
water and biomass by microorganisms present in active sludge and required for successful
process implementation. The excess biomass is settled in the secondary clarifier where
secondary sludge also known as biological sludge, biosolids or activated sludge, is generated
(Bahar, et al., 2011, p. 8; Abubakr, et al., 1995). Also, depending on a certain treatment
scheme applied at a certain mill, primary sludge and secondary could be either mixed together
 18

or collected separately. From the information above, it is seen that primary sludge consists of
both organic and inorganic matter, while secondary WWTS is mainly organic materials.

WWTP residuals are the largest part of waste stream generated by PPI by volume. (Abubakr,
et al., 1995) These residuals are presented by several types and their shares within all WWTP
residuals are presented in Figure 1. The data presented in the figure is collected from PPI
plants located in the USA (Bird & Talberth, 2008) and Italy (Boni, et al., 2003).

70

60
Amount of sludge generated

50
per ton of product, %

40

30 USA
20 Italy

10

0
Primary Secondary Combined Others
(including
deinking)
Type of sludge

Figure 1. Percent distribution of sludge types produced by PPI plants (Bird & Talberth, 2008; Boni, et al.,
2003).

The graph above shows that there is no certain tendency on how to collect sludge. Moreover,
not all companies perform biological wastewater treatment on-site, and, thus, they do not have
secondary sludge generated at all. Depending on sludge treatment and utilization method,
separation of different sludge types, especially secondary sludge, could be beneficial. For
example, if sludge is proposed to be used in the production of construction materials then the
highest content of inorganic content is beneficial. Moreover, primary and secondary sludge
types are of different nature and in the case of necessary pretreatment different sludge should
be treated separately to achieve best possible results.
 19

2.2 Deinking sludge generation

DS is generated as a result of recycled fibre production from recycled paper. In many cases
deinking process is included in the production scheme since deinking enables increase of
brightness and cleanliness of the material being produced. Froth flotation deinking process is
mainly used in pulp and paper industry for selective deletion of ink particles only. Not only
froth flotation is applied for ink removal during recycled fibre processing, but also wash
deinking. That kind of deinking is more aimed at small particles removal, including fillers,
coating materials, fines, and inks. However, froth flotation and wash deinking could be
combined in the same production line so that the effect of unwanted materials removal is
increased. In addition to deinking, de-ashing process is applied in tissue paper production for
better removal of fines and fillers. (Kujala, 2012)

In case of deinking sludge, TSS can be categorized into organic matter, such as bark and
fiber, and inorganic matter, such as, kaolin, clay, CaCO3, TiO2 that are resulting from coating
materials and other chemicals used for paper production.

2.3 Sludge properties

Properties and nature of sludge, generated at PPI mills depend on the grade of the paper being
manufactured, raw materials being used, fibre losses during the production process, as well as
effectiveness of the wastewater treatment equipment. Generally, sludge can be characterized
by following parameters:

 moisture content;
 ash content;
 heating value.
 loss of ignition;
 fiber length distribution;
 particle size distribution;
 viscosity and pH (Dahl, 2008).
 20

Dahl (2008) and Abubakr (1995) provide information about chemical composition of
different sludge types from various production processes. Also Gottsching (2000, p. 514)
published the data about composition of DS. Information from these sources was gathered in
Table 1. It is clear from the table that sludge composition varies even within the same
production processes: dry solids content (DSC) of sludge from three Kraft pulp mills varies
from 37.6 to 42.0%. In other words, different pretreatment methods are implemented at those
mills. Not only solids content, but also ash content (AC) varies greatly.

Table 1. Composition of sludge from various pulp and paper processes (bark composition is given for
comparison). (Dahl, 2008; Abubakr, et al., 1995; Gottsching, 2000)

Elements content, % Heating

Source/ value on
Component Solids Ash C H S O N dry basis,
MJ/kg
Kraft-pulp mill (2 37.6 7.1 55.2 6.4 1.0 26.0 4.4 24.1
Kraft-pulp mill(2 40.0 8.0 48.0 5.7 0.8 36.3 1.2 19.8
Pulp mill(2 42.0 4.9 51.6 5.7 0.9 29.3 0.9 21.5
Bleached pulp mill(2 33.4 1.9 48.7 6.6 0.2 42.4 0.2 20.1
Mixed sludge
- 16.0 45.0 5.8 0.1 - 0.6 -
Paper mill(1
Mixed sludge
- 9.6 45.9 6.5 0.7 9.6 3,7 18.9
Paper mill(4
Deinking sludge(2 42.0 20.2 28.8 3,5 0.2 18.8 0.5 12.0
Deinking sludge(2 42.0 14.0 31.1 4.4 0.2 30.1 0.9 12.2
Deinking sludge(4 - 50.1 26.9 2.9 0.2 18.8 1.2 8.6
Recycled paper mill(2 45.0 3,0 48.4 6.6 0.2 41.3 0.5 20.8
Recycled paper mill(2 50.5 2.8 48.6 6.4 0.3 41.6 0.4 20.6
Bark(2 54.0 3.5 48.0 6.0 0.1 42.1 0.3 20.3
(1 – taken from (Dahl, 2008);
(2 – taken from (Abubakr, et al., 1995);
(3 – taken from (Gottsching, 2000);
(4 – taken from (Niessen, 2002)

DS highlighted in Italic in the table above have the highest ash content. It means that more
than a half of the sludge is incombustible inorganic matter. Along with that, carbon content of
the sludge is the lowest between all sludge types. The parameters mentioned directly
influence heating value - the major characteristic of sludge as a fuel. Therefore, even if DSC
of deinking sludge is somewhat comparable to the rest sludge types or higher, heating values
on dry basis are the lowest (from 8.6 to 12.2 MJ/kg).
 21

The rest types of sludge have heating values comparable with bark. This comparison is given
since co-firing of sludge with bark is relatively common technique for WWTS and DS
utilization at PPI plants and will be described later. Pulp mill sludge generally has higher
sulfur content than paper mill sludge and that should be taken into account when air pollution
control system for sludge incineration plant is designed.

Monte, et al. (2009) provides information about heavy metals content (Table 2). Such
information is needed to supports further decision about the way of sludge utilization, as well
as to estimate the amount of heavy metals in emissions released into the atmosphere in the
case of sludge incineration. In general terms, sludge contains smaller amounts of heavy
metals compared to municipal solid waste (MSW) and, thus, the flue gas treatment system
suitable for MSW incineration plants can be easily applied to sludge incineration process to
comply with the regulations set on heavy metals emissions.

Table 2. Heavy metals content in different sludge types (bulk municipal solid waste composition is given for
comparison). (Valkenburg et al, 2008; Monte, et al., 2009)

Elements content on dry basis

Source/ Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Hg, Zn,
Component mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg
dry dry dry dry dry dry dry

Pulping – primary
41 <0.7 24 238 6 0.1 141
sludge
Pulping – secondary
22 <0.7 17 71 8 0.01 135
sludge
Deinking sludge from 0.01- 34-
10-210 9-903 20-195 <10-31 0.1-0.9
recovered paper 0.98 1320
Municipal solid waste 50-350 1-35 8-240 35-750 1-150 0.1-2 85-500

Composition of inorganic part of deinking sludge, i.e. ash left after incineration, is presented
in Table 3. It should be noted that composition of ash can vary depending on the raw
materials used for recycled fibre production.
 22

Table 3. Deinking sludge ash analysis.

(CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005)

Ash analysis, DS DS
weight-% №1 №2
Fe2O3 2.2 1.3
SiO2 28.6 40.9
Al2O3 43.4 22.9
CaO 4.6 25.8
MgO 0.2 6.9
TiO2 2.8 1.8
MnO 0.2 -
P2O5 5.4 -
Na2O 3.6 0.2
K2O 1.3 0.2
SO3 4.1 -

As can be seen from the table, inorganic part of deinking sludge mainly consists of Si, Al, and
Ca oxides. The rest elements are present in smaller concentrations. Si and Al are the main
components of kaolin, while Ca is the main element of precipitated calcium carbonate. These
materials are widely used in paper production that is further used for recycled fibre
manufacturing. That composition will be required to assess applicability of deinking sludge in
the production processes of different construction materials.

Some sludge properties, especially its aggregate state, depend on DSC of sludge as presented
in Figure 2. Given DSC of sludge it is possible to determine sludge aggregate state (liquid/
solid) and structure. Moreover, heat conductivity of sludge is also displayed. As can be seen
from the figure, sludge starts agglomerating at about 35% DSC, but only at DSC equal to 58%
sludge is presented in the form of single granules. It worth mentioning, that the second zone
borders can change depending on either absence, or presence of biological matter or fibers.
All that should be taken into account when the pretreatment system is being chosen.
(Degremont, 2007, pp. 1274-1275)
 23

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Dry solids content, %

First zone Second zone Third zone

Low viscosity High viscosity Is not determined
by water content

Can be transported Agglomerate Single

by pump structure granulas

High thermal Low thermal Average thermal

conductivity conductivity conductivity
coefficient coefficient coefficient

Figure 2. Relationship between the DCS and rheological properties of sludge. (Degremont, 2007, p. 1275)

2.4 Amounts of sludge produced

To evaluate the scale of the problem resulted from sludge landfilling and to select appropriate
sludge utilization way, specific amount of sludge generation should be known. Volumes of
sludge generated in several production processes could be found through specific rates of
sludge generation presented in Table 4. Furthermore, generation rates of primary sludge only
are shown in Table 5.

Table 4. Total amounts of sludge generated in several pulping and papermaking processes. (modified from
Dahl, 2008; Xu & Lancaster, 2012).

Filler kg of sludge on dry basis/tonne of product

Raw material Grade conten 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 150
t
Chemical pulp Paper Low
Chemical pulp Paper High
Mechanical pulp Newsprint Low
Semichemical Corrugated
pulp board
Tissue
Recycled paper Absence
paper
Recycled paper Board
 24

Sludge generation rate depends on, firstly, raw material being used, secondly, type of the
material being produced and, thirdly, filler content. The tendency observed from Table 4 is
that use of virgin fibre does not lead to generation of high sludge volumes. However, in the
case when the paper being produced has high filler content, amount of sludge generated
increases even if virgin pulp is used in the production process. Use of recycled paper does not
necessarily result in high amount of sludge, as in the case of board production. However,
during manufacturing of tissue paper high amount of DS is generated (up to 150 kg dry
solids/t of product). For the production of tissue paper, full removal of filler, inks and other
additives present in recycled paper is required, while for the production of board it does not.
Thus, the most important sludge generators are the companies producing tissue paper from
recycled one.

Table 5. Amounts of primary sludge generated depending on the product being produced. (modified from
Dahl, 2008).

Manufactured kg of sludge on dry basis/tonne of product

product 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 120
Chemical pulp
Mechanical pulp
Semichemical pulp
Recycled fibre
Paper and board

Information in Table 5 is similar to the data presented in Table 4 with the main tendency
about high sludge generation rate at mills producing recycled fibre. It can be proposed that
recycled fibre was used for the production of tissue paper because of high amounts of sludge
generated.

Once it becomes known how WWTS and DS are generated, their properties, factors affecting
the properties and specific amounts of sludge generated, utilization possibilities of sludge can
be examined with respect to sludge energy recovery and use of sludge in the construction
materials production.
 25

3 PRETREATMENT METHODS OF SLUDGE

This chapter is aimed at description of processes employed to give required properties to

sludge so that sludge could be further utilized. Some of those properties are moisture content,
stability and lack of pathogens in sludge. In accordance with GOST R 54535-2011 “Resource
conservation. Wastewater treatment sludge. Requirements when disposed or used on
landfills” (Federal Agency on Technical Regulation, 2012), which is valid and compulsory for
implementation for all companies in Russia, DSC of sludge must be not less than 15 weight-
% when sludge is disposed in landfills, and not less than 50 weight-% when sludge is used in
landfills.

Diagileva (2012), Garg (2009), Degremont (2007, p. 1171) and Hynninen (1998, p.115)
provide similar information on sludge handling methods, so information from these sources
was compiled and presented in Figure 3. In addition, a typical route of sludge, generated in
PPI, processing is indicated (Dahl, 2008).

In general case, sludge pretreatment consists of the following operations: thickening,

conditioning, dewatering, drying and final utilization of sludge. Stabilization is not used to
decrease moisture content of sludge and, thus, will not be described in the study. As it is
shown in Figure 3, there is a great variety of sludge pretreatment methods exists and the
selection of a real option depends on the situation.

3.1 Thickening

Thickening is a fundamental stage of sludge pretreatment in any case (Diagileva, et al., 2012).
The most widespread thickening method is gravity thickening that does not imply installation
of complex equipment. Normally, gravity thickening is implemented in clarifiers (see
Appendix I). Once sludge has passed the clarifier, DSC increases from 0.3-3.0 to 7.0%. It
worth mentioning that secondary sludge presented by excess biomass has higher resistance to
dewatering and, therefore, final DSC of secondary sludge cannot be more than 3.0% in
general (Hynninen, 1998, p. 115).
 26

Sludge from Sludge from

primary clarifier secondary clarifier

Rotary drum Gravity Flotation Gravity belt

THICKENING Centrifugation
thickening thickening thickening thickening

Chlorine Lime Heat Anaerobic Aerobic

STABILIZATION Composting
oxidation stabilization treatment digestion digestion

Chemical
CONDITIONING Elutriation Heat treatment
conditioning

DEWATERING Filters Presses Lagoon Centrifugation Drying bed

Mulriple hearth
DRYING Flues gases use Flash drying Spray drying Rotary drying
drying

FINAL Soil Use in some

Energy recovery Landfilling Other ways
REPLACEMENT improvement industry

Typical sludge pretreatment path at PPI mills

Figure 3. Stages of sludge handling process. (combined from Degremont, 2007; Diagileva, et al., 2012;
Hynninen, 1998, p. 115; Garg, 2009).

The efficiency of sludge thickening is higher if thickening is done in a flotation unit (see
Appendix II), while the most efficient thickening method is that in a gravity table (see
Appendix III) or in a belt thickener (see Appendix IV). The latter one allows increase of
sludge DSC to as high as 15.0%.

3.2 Conditioning

Conditioning is needed to ensure better water repulsion of sludge while being dewatered.
Water-repellent properties of sludge are increased, since forms of water bonds are changed
 27

after conditioning. Thermal or reactant treatments are the most common ways to condition
sludge at PPI mills. (Diagileva, et al., 2012, p. 87)

Reactant treatment that also refers to as chemical conditioning is used widely as a basic
method. The best results could be gained when an inorganic salt and a polyelectrolyte are
used together. Most frequently a combination of ferric chloride, aluminum oxides, and lime is
applied as an inorganic salt. Amount of chemicals used is determined by simple analysis.
Reagents are fed into a flocculation tank for 1-3 minutes to allow reaction with sludge. As a
result, small solid particles contained in sludge coagulate into larger ones that are simpler to
dewater. Cost of reagents on local market determines mainly the method application.
Moreover, about 60-70% of used FeCl3 and 80-90% of used Ca(OH)2 pass into sludge, and
consequently will influence composition of sludge generated. (Degremont, 2007, pp. 1192-
1193; Hynninen, 1998, p. 115)

Thermal treatment could be implemented by a wet air oxidation method or by heat treatment.
The former method is flameless oxidation at temperatures of 230-290 oC and pressure of
about 8.3 MPa, while the latter one is done at temperatures of 180-200 oC and pressure level
of 1-2 MPa. Heat treatment method is used more. When sludge is heated, water bound within
the cell structure escapes from sludge and makes sludge easier to dewater. Sludge dewatering
efficiency after thermal conditioning is higher, than that after chemical conditioning.
However, cost of thermal conditioning is higher than that of chemical one. (Degremont, 2007,
pp. 1196-1197)

3.3 Dewatering

Dewatering is applied for enhanced water removal from sludge as required by legislation.
Moreover, more effective dewatering leads to both environmental and economic benefits.
Environmental benefits are reached due to sharp decrease in amounts of sludge disposed in
landfills, if sludge is not processed further for energy or material recovery. Economic gains
are expressed in terms of money saved from reduced amounts of sludge to be transported.

According to the reference document on Best Available Techniques (BAT) in the pulp and
paper industry created by European commission (2001), biological sludge generated at
 28

secondary wastewater treatment stage has high resistance to dewatering and should be mixed
with primary sludge in order to achieve higher dewatering efficiency. In addition, the
document states that sludge should be both thickened and conditioned before being
dewatered. Dewatering could be performed in several ways, and some of those are described
below. (Garg, 2009)

3.3.1 Centrifuge

Out of all centrifuge types, most commonly applied technology in the wood processing
industry is the solid bowl decanter also known as centrifuge. The centrifuge is presented in
Figure 4.

1 – sludge inlet; 2 – rotor; 3 – screw; 4 – sedimentary box; 5 – differential gear; 6 – box body; 7 –
shock damper; 8 – sludge outlet; 9 – basement; 10 – directional valve; 11 – drainhole; 12 – overfall.

Figure 4. Centrifuge. (Degremont, 2007).

 29

Sludge to be dewatered (1) is sent to a directional valve (10) that distributes sludge evenly
over the periphery of circle and forces sludge into space between a rotor (2) and a screw (3).
Under centrifugal forces, sludge is pushed towards the rotor’s inner wall and then is taken by
the screw towards the discharge end of the centrifuge. Because of the differential gear (5)
screw rotates a little faster than rotor what makes liquid/solid separation possible. Dewatered
sludge is discharged at the end of the centrifuge (8).

Centrifuges show higher efficiency with both inorganic and conditioned sludge and lower
with organic one because of specific nature of secondary sludge. Final DSC after sludge
processing in centrifuges typically varies from 10 to 35% depending on sludge type and
flocculants used for sludge conditioning. However, some advanced solid bowl decanters
manufactured by Alfa Laval allow sludge dewatering up to 65% DSC (Alfa Laval, 2011).
Specific energy consumption of a single centrifuge can vary from 20 to 60 kWh/tonne of
sludge (Huber Technology, 2013). (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005; Hynninen,
1998, pp. 116-117)

3.3.2 Belt filter- press

Sludge dewatering in belt filter-presses is one of the common methods of sludge dewatering
at PPI plants with many installations being used globally. A belt filter-press is presented in
Figure 5.

Figure 5. Belt filter-press. (Komline-Sanderson, 2010)

 30

Conditioned sludge is distributed over the surface of a belt with the aid of sludge distribution
box. Firstly, free water is removed by the gravity forces in the independent gravity drainage
zone. Later, sludge is fed in between two belts, thus, being pressurized. Belts are moving then
through a series of turning rolls of decreasing diameter. Eventually, dewatered sludge that is
also called cake is discharged. Belts are washed in belt washers to recover filtrating ability.

Belt filter-presses were designed on the purpose of fibrous sludge dewatering, so fibre
containing sludge can be treated at high efficiency. Moreover, such installations can be
applied for primary and secondary sludge treatment, as well as their mixture. DSC of sludge
processed in a belt filter-press varies in a range of 20-35%. Energy needed for treatment of
one tonne of suspended particles contained in sludge is 10-25 kWh. (Degremont, 2007)

3.3.3 Screw press

Along with belt filter-presses, screw presses have found wide application around the world. A
typical screw press is depicted in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Screw press. (Organo Corporation, 2002)

 31

Sludge fed into a screw press is transported along the length of the press because of the
rotating screw. The screw shaft diameter increases over its length and, thus, increases pressure
put on sludge. Because of that, water starts filtrating through a screen. Sludge discharging is
regulated by the cake scraper that is used for prevention of uncontrolled sludge discharge.
Gap size between the scraper and the screw is regulated so that efficiency of dewatering is
maximum.

Screw presses show higher efficiency at primary sludge and DS treatment, while dewatering
of secondary sludge is a questionable process because of slimy texture of secondary sludge.
During normal operation of a screw press, final DSC of sludge can reach 30-50% depending
on a sludge type and a conditioning method applied. Specific energy consumption of a screw
press is 10-30 kWh/tonne of sludge (Huber Technology, 2013). (CANMET. Energy
technology centre, 2005)

3.3.4 Chamber filter-press

Since chamber filter-presses have periodic mode of operation, their application is limited at
PPI mills, however, amongst those already installed, high dewatering efficiency is obtained. A
principal scheme of a chamber filter-press is shown in Figure 7.

A chamber filter-press is a set of vertical plates that are pressed against each other by a
hydraulic press located at one end of the set. A filtration cycle includes closing of empty
filter, filling the space between plates with sludge, pressing sludge between the plates by
closure, purging the plates with compressed air. After that, moving head is drawn back and, as
a result, filter cake falls down under its own weight. To recover filtrating ability of plates,
washing after every 20-35 cycles is required.
 32

Figure 7. Chamber filter-press. (Lenntech, 2013)

Possible achievable DSC varies between 30-50%. One of the modifications of chamber filter-
presses is a membrane chamber filter-press, which efficiency of dewatering is as high as 70%
DSC at the end of the process. Drawbacks of the technology are its periodical work and high
specific energy consumption of 30-90 kWh/tonne of sludge (Huber Technology, 2013).

3.4 Drying

Moisture content of dewatered sludge can be appropriate for sludge disposal, but not for
energy or material recovery and, therefore, drying stage could be a necessary step in sludge
pretreatment prior to its energy or material recovery. As it is shown in Figure 3, drying of
sludge using flue gases from combustion process is a typical method, which can be done
either at sludge generating mill premises, or at a receiving plant, especially, in sludge
 33

incineration plants. Fluidized bed dryers, rotary dryers, and multiple hearth dryers are
considered to be effective for sludge drying.

3.4.1 Rotary dryer

An illustration of a rotary dryer is given in Figure 8. Sludge to be dried and air for drying are
fed from the same end of the dryer, while air passes through a heater installed in the dryer.
The inclined dryer slowly rotates moving sludge towards the discharge end of the dryer.
Drying happens because of internal lifting flights of sludge that result in sludge tumbling
through the warm air stream.

Figure 8. Rotary dryer. (GEA Process Engineering, 2013)

Rotary dryer could be either with direct or indirect contact of sludge and drying agent. If
sludge drying is implemented in a rotary dryer with direct contact, then both sludge and
drying agent are fed inside the dryer. In that case, hot exhaust gases are applied. When sludge
is dried in a dryer with indirect contact, then drying agent is fed into a drum jacket, thus,
preventing contact between sludge and the drying agent. In general terms, indirect dryers are
better suited for drying of particles with low size and density and, therefore, rotary dryers
with direct contact are more appropriate for deinking sludge drying. (CANMET. Energy
technology centre, 2005)
 34

3.4.2 Fluidized bed dryer

Fluidized bed dryers allow implementation of fast and even sludge drying at low temperatures
enabling utilization of waste heat, such as low-pressure steam. An example of a fluidized bed
dryer is presented in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Horizontal multiple-chamber continuous fluid bed drying and cooling system. (Kurimoto, 1997)

Hot air coming from the bottom of the dryer through a straightening vane is used for heating
up inert material, like sand, that later will contact with sludge enabling its drying. After sludge
particles have been dried, they become lighter and overflow to a cooler. The most beneficial
side of fluidized bed dryers is that almost all surface of sludge particles stays in contact with
the drying agent. (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005)
 35

3.4.3 Multiple hearth dryer

Creation of multiple hearth dryers was caused by the need of sewage sludge drying.
Nevertheless, area of multiple hearth dryers application was extended to PPI mills since not
much difference can be found in sludge properties important for drying. An ordinary multiple
hearth dryer is illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 10. Multiple hearth dryer. (Adelaide Control Engineering, 2013)

Long residence time of sludge in the dryer allows effective drying of sludge by hot air blown
inside. Direction of sludge movement and drying agent are displayed in the figure above.

With the furnace type development, a modification allowing combination of drying and
incineration processes became more popular.
 36

3.5 Summary of pretreatment methods

Comparison of sludge pretreatment methods is given in Figure 11. The methods are
characterized by the range of DSC where each method can be applied. Gradient is given to
show that there are no strict border values. As can be seen, there is no such DSC where no
pretreatment method could be applied.

Thickening efficiency of different methods varies slightly. So, clarifiers have the lowest
efficiency for sludge thickening amongst all methods mentioned in the study that equals to
7%. On contrary, belt thickeners are the most effective for sludge thickening with final DSC
of sludge of 20%. Moreover, the range of belt thickener´s applicability is the widest.

What relates to dewatering, belt filter-presses are the least effective ones for sludge
dewatering. Maximum achievable DSC of sludge after processing in a belt filter-press equals
to 35%, while final DSC of sludge dewatered in a membrane chamber filter-press could be
two times higher compared to a belt filter-press. Initial DSC of sludge fed into a screw press
should not be less about 8% due to the design of the equipment.

Drying, regardless the method applied, is applied to achieve the highest feasible DSC. Final
DSC should be economically justified and could be as high as 95%.
 37

Initial and final DSC of sludge, %

Pretreatment method
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 90 95
1. Thickening
(1
1.1. Clarifier
1.2. Flotation unit (3
(3
1.3. Gravity table
1.4. Belt thickener (2
2. Dewatering
(1
2.1. Centrifuge
2.2. Screw press (3
(1
2.3. Belt filter-press
2.4. Chamber filter-press (2
2.4.1. Membrane chamber filter-
(3
press
3. Drying
(1 - taken from (Hynninen, 1998)
(2- taken from (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005)
(3 - taken from (Degremont, 2007)
Initial DSC - left border of range
Final DSC - right border of range <= LOWER degree of applicability HIGHER =>

Figure 11. Comparison of pretreatment methods regarding initial and final DSC of sludge generated in PPI.
 38

4 ENERGY RECOVERY

According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) 1 (2004b), it is possible

to group all sludge treatment options as follows:

(1) reuse within the industry – reuse in the production process or

use as an energy source at the mill;
(2) stabilization – composting and anaerobic digestion processes;
(3) land management – land restoration and landspreading;
(4) energy recovery – sludge incineration;
(5) construction materials – cement production and to lesser extent
tile, brick and insulation production;
(6) other ways – animal bedding, cat litter.

Energy recovery and use on land are the most frequently used methods for sludge utilization.
Popularity of each management option applied at pulp and paper mills of CEPI members is
represented in Figure 12. Moreover, according to CEPI (2005a), during last twelve years
energy recovery and use on land as utilization methods were constantly on top of all recovery
options, while share of landfilled pulp and paper residues decreased by a factor of two.

Different sludge characteristics, such as given in chapter 2.3 and mainly moisture content, ash
content, share of organic and inorganic parts and heating value determine a range of possible
utilization ways. Since landfilling cannot be considered as a sustainable way of utilization,
that method is not taken into the framework of the thesis. Land management is also outside of
the thesis boundaries and will not be assessed.

1
CEPI - is a Brussels-based non-profit making organisation regrouping the European pulp and paper industry.
 39

Energy recovery Use on land

33% 37%

Use in other Landfilling

industries 11%
19%

Figure 12. Sludge management options in practice. Average between CEPI countries in 2003. (CEPI, 2004b)

Any technology enabling conversion of chemical energy of sludge into heat and/or electricity
refers to energy recovery technology. As it was mentioned in chapter 2, WWTS contains big
share of organic matter such as fiber residues and excess biomass. All these organically based
residues contributes to relatively high heating value of sludge on dry basis (Table 1) that is
comparable to heating values of bark or waste paper. However, DS has much greater share of
inorganic matter, and consequently has smaller heating value compared to WWTS.
Nevertheless, sludge incineration is one of the most commonly applied sludge utilization
method in European countries (Figure 12).

Energy recovery is beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, sludge incineration enables 80-90%
reduction of sludge volume, in case of WWTS. Thus, main objective of waste-to-energy
technologies, that also refer to as sludge-to-energy technologies in case of sludge incineration,
is to significantly reduce environmental impact caused by amounts of sludge landfilled. Ash
left after incineration is relatively inert and stable and, thus, might be used in other industries,
if not landfilled. Applicability of ash is determined partly by the content of heavy metals.
Hence, ash utilization is not considered in the thesis. Another beneficial side of energy
 40

recovery is transportation efficiency achieved by reduced amount of waste to be landfilled.

Nevertheless, not all sludge incineration processes are energy efficient or economically viable
due to high moisture content of DS and WWTS. Sometimes, additional energy sources are
required to support combustion processes. Great variety of methods to utilize energy from
sludge is known and applied nowadays (Figure 13). (Monte, et al., 2009)

The classification presented in Figure 13 is given initially for secondary sludge treatment
only. However, the authors of the article (Xu & Lancaster, 2012) have not given explanation
on why primary sludge is not acceptable. Most probably, classification is given for secondary
sludge since incineration of secondary sludge is much wider used in comparison with DS. In
the study it was assumed that both sludge types (WWTS and DS) could be treated according
to the classification below. Moreover, Abubakr in his paper (1995) states that both sludge
types could be successfully treated together with the same technologies and methods as given
below.

WWTS / DPS

Heat Chemical
Technology Dewatering
treatment conditioning

Method

Direct SuperCritical Anaerobic

Incineration Carbonization Gasification Pyrolysis
liquefaction Water Oxidation digestion

Primary product
Low HHV Oil, gas Oil, gas
Steam Syngas H2-rich gas Methane
gas and char and char

Figure 13. Energy recovery options for DS and WWTS. (modified from Xu & Lancaster, 2012)

4.1 Incineration

In the Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Pulp and Paper Industry
(European commission, 2001) it is stated that residues generated in paper mills must be either
recycled or recovered, including energy recovery, prior landfilling. To make simple
 41

assessment whether sludge can be incinerated alone without input of additional energy the
fuel triangle is presented in Figure 14.

Relationship between ash content, moisture content and organic content of residues from
paper mills including deinking sludge is illustrated. To maintain self-supporting incineration
process, sludge should be not more than 50 weight-% moist, its AC should be less than 60
weight-%, and content of organic matter higher than 25 weight-%. DS has average moisture
content of 50 weight-%, and average AC of 55% (Table 1) and, thus, such composition of
sludge is difficult to be incinerated without additional fuel. Position of deinking sludge in the
figure below is unexpected, since its water content varies between 10 - 20 weight-% and
based on Figure 11, it can be concluded that sludge was dried prior to incineration.
Nevertheless, first assumption about sludge behavior in combustion process can be done
based on the figure below.

Figure 14. Tanner’s diagram for residues generated in paper industry

(European commission, 2001).

In case of sludge combustion, content of heavy metals, as well as alkali ones should be taken
into account. Heavy metals will mostly influence flue gas treatment system, while alkali
metals will affect the temperature of the process since they melt at relatively low temperatures
generating agglomerates that block grates or cause defluidization. Concentration of heavy
metals in sludge can be found in Table 2.
 42

Grate type boilers, FBB, multiple hearth furnace or rotary kiln are applied for sludge
combustion, while grate type boilers and FBB are the main types of technologies. (CANMET.
Energy technology centre, 2005)

4.1.1 Grate type boiler

In pulp and paper industry, sludge incineration is commonly applied in co-combustion

processes with bark and wood residues in already existing boilers (Abubakr, et al., 1995).
Among all possible grate types, travelling grate boilers are the most popular for bark
incineration (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005). This boiler type consists of a
furnace with a bottom grate that is a metal belt conveyor carrying waste throughout the boiler.
Many holes are made in the grate to supply and distribute combustion air to the combustion
process. Ash is discharged as it goes out of the combustion zone. (CANMET. Energy
technology centre, 2005; European commission, 2006)

Amount of sludge to be burned together with other residues (bark, chips) is determined by the
particular boiler characteristics, sludge and bark properties. There is nothing to change with
bark properties and not so much could be changed in the boiler design, whereas sludge
characteristics, mostly moisture content, could be changed. Moisture of the fuel fed into the
boiler strongly influences operation temperature. For example, moisture increase by 1% tends
to 10oC fall in the temperature. Abubakr (1995) provides next methods that could compensate
high moisture content of sludge: (1) to raise the combustion air temperature by removing
economizer surface area and by adding air heat transfer, (2) to increase the capacity of over-
fire-air system, (3) better sludge dewatering, (4) to make more even sludge distribution with
bark.

Design features of the travelling grate do not allow supply of air with temperature higher than
approximately 230oC what, in turn, limits amount of sludge to be added. Approximate bark
moisture should not exceed 50 weight-% if no additional fuel is supplied. In such situation
about 20% heat input from 60 weight-% moist sludge could be accommodated, but if
moisture content of bark is 55 weight-% and higher, no sludge could be added. This problem
is successfully solved in reciprocating or vibrating types of grate where temperature of air
blown inside could reach up to 340oC that results in increase of sludge amounts supplied to
 43

the boiler by 10%. Often, in existing PPI plants with travelling grates installed in boilers
15-20 weight-% of fuel fed is sludge. Larger amounts of sludge combusted lead to increased
ash generation and to grate and boiler-tube fouling. (CANMET. Energy technology centre,
2005, p. 80)

4.1.2 Fluidized bed boiler

As it was mentioned above, sludge incineration process could be in some cases deficient due
to sludge water content. In fluidized bed technology moisture content is less problematic
concern due to more efficient thermal oxidation (Monte, et al., 2009). Moreover, fluidized
bed boilers are intended to be the best option for new installations for sludge co-combustion.
A schematic fluidized bed boiler is presented in Figure 15. (European commission, 2001, p.
189)

Figure 15. Fluidized bed boiler. (Power Technology, 2012)

 44

In a fluidized bed boiler (FBB), a furnace is filled with inert material that could be classified
sand or limestone to a depth of 0.6-1.2 m. Once air is blown inside from the bottom, the inert
material starts bubbling or boiling to a height of 0.9-1.5 m. Usually air velocity is 2.4 m/s that
allows bubbling without sand particles being blown out of the FBB. Air blown inside is
preheated to 550oC only when the system starts. As fuel is spread into the bed material,
evaporation begins. Then sludge rapidly absorbs heat and evaporates volatiles that ignite.
Normal temperature for the bed material is 760-900oC. If the temperature is higher, problem
with sand agglomeration arises, and if lower, CO emissions will increase. Secondary air
should be used to increase flue gas temperature to the level required by the Directive
2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste (European Parliament and the Council of the
European Union, 2000). (Abubakr, et al., 1995; CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005,
p. 83)

Use of inert material as a medium for incineration process enables combustion of high
moisture sludge because the bed material acts as thermal storage. Another benefitial feature of
FBB is energy transfer mechanism. In FBB, heat is transferred by conduction that is less
sensitive to moisture content of the fuel (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005). In
some cases sludge could even be burned alone if dewatered until desired moisture content. If
moisture content of sludge is 58-62%, no supplementary energy is needed but at the same
time no energy output will be. In that case the system is balanced in terms of energy
input/output. If sludge is less moist, there is the need to install in-bed heat transfer surface to
utilize energy from the process. (Abubakr, et al., 1995)

The problem with FBB can occur from de-fluidization that happens when inert material
agglomerates and cannot be suspended by air blown inside. Such particles settle at the bottom
and should be rejected. This fouling can happen, firstly, due to accumulation of large particles
fed with the fuel and, secondly, because of the reaction of alkalis with alumina and silica
resulting in formation of low melting point eutectics that agglomerate later. Nevertheless,
there is the developed market of fluidized bed boilers. Companies provide not only new
boilers, but also provide service for reconstruction of old grate boilers to FBB. It was proven
that FBB can be used as a successful tool to recover energy potential from sludge.
(CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005, pp. 87-89)
 45

If it is planned to incinerate sludge jointly with high heating value fuels, the need to remove
extra heat arises. This could be done in circulating fluidized bed boilers (CFBB). The
operational mechanism differs slightly from FBB, especially by the mechanism of heat
removal. Here, heat is removed with a portion of the bed material that will be cooled in a
separate zone and then returned back to the process. The fuel is fed from the bottom of the
CFBB and burns when contacts with the bed material. In such construction, more powerful
cyclones are required to separate larger amounts of entrained sand. (CANMET. Energy
technology centre, 2005; Abubakr, et al., 1995)

4.1.3 Rotary kiln

Rotary kiln consists of a rotating cylindrical vessel under a certain angle of inclination to
allow waste movement under gravity force (Figure 16).

Figure 16. Rotary kiln. (Eisenmann, 2013)

The vessel is usually 10-15 m in length with the length/diameter ratio of 3-6. Generally, it
takes from 30 to 90 minutes for waste to pass through the kiln and be burned. A post-
combustion chamber is installed to increase destruction of toxic substances. Operational
 46

temperatures vary from 850 to 1300oC in the kiln and from 900 to 1200oC in the post-
combustion chamber. (European commission, 2006)

4.1.4 Multiple hearth furnace

This type of equipment was mainly designed for sludge incineration (Figure 17). The
description is given in (European commission, 2006) as follows: “the multiple hearth furnace
consists of a cylindrical lined steel jacket, horizontal layers, and a rotating shaft with attached
agitating arms. The furnace is lined with refractory bricks. The multiple hearth furnace also
equipped with a start-up burner, sludge dosing mechanism, circulation-, sleeve shaft- and
fresh air blowers.” The sludge is fed on the top and air is blown from the bottom. (European
commission, 2006)

Figure 17. Multiple hearth furnace. (European commission, 2006)

 47

Upper hearths are used as a drying zone where water evaporates from sludge fed.
Operational temperature is not more than 980oC because of the clinker generation at higher
temperatures. One multiple hearth furnace (MHF) can process up to 12 tonnes per hour of
sludge. (European commission, 2006)

4.2 Gasification

Gasification process is rarely used in the PPI nowadays, while the tendency is to increase the
application of the process. Main technological barrier is that the process is difficult to
understand and apply, while another challenge is the absence of information about WWTS
and DS gasification process (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005, p. 94). However,
the process becomes more and more popular because of several benefits gained: firstly,
volume of flue gases and concentration of pollutants therein is lower than that of incineration
process; secondly, overall energy utilization efficiency of the process is higher. Operating
temperature of the process ranges between 900-1400oC. (Xu & Lancaster, 2012)

Gasification process is a partial combustion of organic matter contained in the material being
“combusted” to produce gases that can be used as fuel. Produced gas is called syngas or
producer gas and consists mostly of N2, CO2, CO and to a lesser extent of H2, and CH2 (Xu &
Lancaster, 2012). Calorific value of the produced syngas is not high and ranges between 3.7-
9.7 MJ/Nm3 if air or oxygen are used in the process (Monte, et al., 2009) (Xu & Lancaster,
2012). Syngas can be easily used in co-firing processes to generate steam or electricity.
However, it needs clean-up from tars if used in gas turbines or micro-turbines. In addition to
steam production, the producer gas can be liquefied to methanol as well as used for hydrogen
production that, in turn, can be used in fuel cells. (Xu & Lancaster, 2012)

Unlike the incineration process, gasification is much more dependent on fuel characteristics.
Main criterion for successful gasification is moisture content of the fuel. In general terms, it is
possible to gasify sludge with 55 weight-% moisture, while it is recommended to dewater abd
dry sludge up to only 10 weight-% moisture content to provide optimum efficiency of the
process. Sludge moisture affects the reactor efficiency to negative side, as well as decreases
the syngas quality. (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005, pp. 98-99)
 48

With the development of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies market, the range of

equipment available expands. Different configurations of already existing facilities and new
emerging technologies are ready to be applied. All gasification technologies can be grouped
into the next categories: CFBB, FBB, fixed bed, updraft and downdraft, static and rotating
beds. In recent times, plasma technology and supercritical water gasification (SCWG)
technologies have risen in popularity. (Xu & Lancaster, 2012)

4.2.1 Plasma gasification

Mountouris (2008) investigated possibility of plasma gasification for sewage sludge

utilization. In general terms, sewage sludge is mainly excess biomass, so it is similar to
secondary sludge generated from wastewater treatment at PPI plants. Plasma gasification is
applied to waste treatment in developed countries mainly. It was proven by Mountouris
(2008) that gasification of 250 tonnes/day sludge with properties as given in Table 6 is energy
efficient process.

Table 6. Sewage sludge composition and heating value in Psittalia. (modified from
Mountouris, et al., 2008)

Dry ash As
Dry basis,%
free,% received,%
C 54.8 37.6 12.0
H 8.0 5.5 1.8
O 33.4 22.9 7.3
N 3.8 2.6 0.8
S 0 0 0
MC - - 68(1
Ash - 31.4 10.1
Sum 100 100 100
HHV (MJ/kg) 24.2 16.6 5.3
(1
-moisture is given as expected to be after dewatering process

The plasma gasification is implemented with the plasma torch, so there is almost no
incineration process. The torch reaches temperature level of 3000oC that destroys all tars,
char, dioxins (Xu & Lancaster, 2012). The plasma furnace is two electrodes between which
electrical current is passed to generate the electric arc. The gas, usually air, becomes plasma
 49

when contacts with the arc. As a result, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen are
produced mainly. Ash left after the process is vitrified and is very stable and inert so that can
be easily applied in the construction materials production. The syngas generated must be
purified prior to energy recovery stage, since it still contains acid gases, suspended particles
and moisture. (Mountouris, et al., 2008)

4.2.2 Supercritical water gasification

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is based on different physical and chemical

properties of water above its critical point (374oC and 22.1 MPa). Almost complete biomass
conversion into valuable fuel occurs because of the properties change. Main components of
the fuel produced are hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide. The most beneficial side of
SCWG process in case of sludge treatment is possibility to feed moist fuels (about 80 weight-
% of moisture). Moreover, a small part of hydrogen produced after the process is generated
from water itself making hydrogen production more efficient. (Gasafi, et al., 2008; Boukis, et
al., 2002)

Figure 18. Simplified flowchart of the “Verena” pilot plant. (Boukis, et al., 2002)

Boukis, et al. (2002) in his paper provides a description of the process and a simplified
flowsheet of a “Verena” pilot plant which capacity is 100t/h (Figure 18). Firstly, sludge is
directed into the high pressure pump where sludge is pressurized up to 30 MPa. Also, the
 50

educt (conditioned sludge) is heated to 500-700oC in the gasification reactor. Due to special
properties of supercritical water, gaseous components become soluble in water and leave the
reactor as a homogeneous phase. Then, effluent from the reactor is cooled down enabling
gaseous components to be separated from liquid. After it, the produced gas in cleaned from
CO2. In the pilot plant, wastewater generated is only treated from suspended solids and further
discharged into a sewage system. If talking about deinking sludge, application to suspended
solids left after the process must be found to make use of valuable inorganic compounds
contained in sludge.

4.3 Supercritical water oxidation

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO), as well as SCWG, is conducted at temperatures and

pressures above the critical point of water. During SCWO, active oxidation takes place in
order to convert organic substances to carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen. Operational
principle is given by Anders Gidner in his article (2001) and presented in Figure 19.

Figure 19. Flowchart of the SCWO pilot plant. (Gidner, et al., 2001).

Presented plant is designed to handle viscous sludge (waste in common). Sludge to be treated
does not need intensive dewatering. About 10% or less of solids could be contained in sludge
prior to the treatment in the pilot plant. A mechanical agitator is used to ensure even
 51

concentrations of sludge while fed to a high pressure pump. Also a macerator is used to
prevent large particles flow to the pump. When sludge is sent to the pump it is pressurized to
25 MPa and then sludge is sent to an economizer where preheating happens. Sludge is heated
up to 400oC in an economizer at normal operation conditions. At start up, or if concentration
of organic matter is lower than 3%, a heater is needed for sludge preheating. Since heat is
released during the oxidation process, outgoing effluent has temperature of 600oC that is
maximum possible temperature for SCWO process (Xu & Lancaster, 2012). Heat is partially
utilized in the economizer and fully in an effluent cooler. Final stage is the separation of
gaseous phase from effluent.

Gidner, et al. (2001) states that deinking sludge processed in the pilot plant was successfully
treated at temperatures of 540-580 oC. In addition, it becomes possible to utilize filler after the
process. For example, the filler left after SCWO was successfully used in the production of
newsprint paper in Sweden.

4.4 Pyrolysis

During the pyrolysis process, organic material is heated up to 400-800oC in anaerobic

conditions to produce gas, char, oils. As it seen, no combustion process takes place, while
little oxidation happens due to fuel oxygen content. The fuel must be dewatered and even
dried up to 80 weight-% of dry solids (Monte, et al., 2009, p. 304). Also, the fuel should be
rich in carbon. In the CANMET report (2005, p. 106) it is stated that there was no commercial
pyrolysis system for utilization of energy potential of DS and WWTS. At the same time, Xu
and Lancaster (2012) provide quite complete information on pyrolysis of secondary sludge
from PPI plants, while Lou (2010) provides information on deinking sludge pyrolysis.

The pyrolysis process can be adjusted by operational temperature, heating rate and reaction
time in order to select the product being produced. For example, char is produced mostly if
the process is operated at low temperatures and low heating rates. The char has high heating
value, if sludge is mostly organic, and can be used as a fuel, or can be activated to become
activated carbon. In contrary, high oil generation rate is gained at high heating rate
(temperature of 500oC and higher) and short residence time of sludge. As a result of such
 52

conditions, yield of approximately 70-75% of bio-oil with lower heating value of 16-19
MJ/kg can be reached. In addition, solid material left after DS pyrolysis can be recycled in
paper production process (Lou, et al., 2010). Fast pyrolysis processes are implemented in
FBB and CFBB or rotating cone reactors. (Xu & Lancaster, 2012)

To sum up, pyrolysis is the process enabling not only energy recovery, but also material
recovery. Energy recovery is implemented through produced bio-oil utilization, and material
recovery is done by recovering of solids left after the process. However, important issue is the
requirements set on DSC of sludge that should be more than 80%.

4.5 Direct liquefaction

Direct liquefaction (DL) is a process performed in liquid phase at low temperature and high
pressure. Catalysts are usually applied to increase reaction rate. The process product is bio-oil
as that of the pyrolysis. The reason to apply DL process instead of pyrolysis is low quality of
the product gas produced in the pyrolysis.

Figure 20. Outline of direct liquefaction process. (Xu & Lancaster, 2008)

Normal direct liquefaction process consists of several steps needed to convert biomass like
sludge to liquid products. Those processes are: solvolysis, depolymerization, decarboxylation,
 53

dehydration and hydrogenolysis/hydrogenation (when hydrogen is present in liquefaction)

followed one by one. Further processes are displayed in Figure 20. (Xu & Lancaster, 2008)

In the paper (Xu & Lancaster, 2008), sludge treatment was implemented at 250-380 oC and
15-120 min residence time in the atmosphere of N2 or H2. One note worth mentioning is that
sludge was absolutely dried before treatment and that implies huge energy expenses in the
industrial scale application. The process was proven as energy deficient and requires further
development.

4.6 Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is biological decomposition of biodegradable materials resulting in

methane and carbon dioxide production. The majority of so called biogas produced is
methane that has comparable to natural gas calorific value and can be used as biofuel. Even if
the process itself is well known, there was no article found related to deinking sludge
digestion. Most probably, the treatment of deinking sludge by anaerobic digestion is quite
questionable because of its high inorganic content. After all, deinking sludge can possibly
contain more toxic compounds that come from inks and other additives used in the printing
industry.

Anaerobic digestion of WWTS that contains both primary and secondary sludge is not widely
used as well, while some installations have been established. The major problem of anaerobic
digestion of WWTS generated at PPI mills is long residence time of sludge in the digester
(20-30 days). However, modern sludge preconditioning methods allow shortening of the
residence time to only 7 days. Those pretreatment technologies include ultrasound treatment,
thermal treatment, ozone oxidation, and mechanical degradation. All methods are aimed at
destruction of cellulose walls in order to make them easier degradable. (Allan & Talat, 2007)

It was found that amount of sludge containing 38% of lignin can be reduced by 40%.
Resulting biogas production was 0.5 m3 biogas/kg sludge removed. Optimal performance of
the digester was at sludge loading rate of 2.2 kg/m3 day-1. Produced biogas can be used as fuel
for vehicles run of biogas, or in microturbines for electricity production. (Talat & Allan,
2006)
 54

4.7 Comparison of waste-to-energy technologies

Comparison of the WTE technologies is based, firstly, on allowed dry solids content of sludge
fed to the process, as a main parameter of sludge influencing thermal destruction process, and
the temperature of the process, as one of the main parameters of WTE technology. Besides
parameters mentioned, operating pressure and operating atmosphere are displayed in Figure
21.

As can be seen from the figure, use of additional fuel is not necessarily required. So,
incineration of sludge with DSC more than 55% is energy efficient. Greater possibilities of
self-supported combustion are in FBB that do not require additional energy when sludge with
DSC exceeding 40% is combusted. In addition, sludge gasification process can be energy
efficient.

To sum up, fluidized bed boiler has the widest range of possible self-supporting combustion
process. It is achieved because of the energy transfer mechanism. The process is well-
balanced at 58-62 weight-% MC of sludge. If DSC is higher than 62% then energy resulting
from incineration should be removed from the system. If DSC is lower than 58% then either
effective hot flue gas recycling system or addition of fuel is required. Moreover, if FBB is
used, reliable prevention of dioxins and furans emission to atmosphere can be achieved.
 55

Parameter, DSC, % 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Operating Operating

Method Products
% o
T, C 250 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1500 2000 3000 pressure atmospere
(1 DSC steam,
Travveling grate boiler ambient air
Temperature electricity
DSC steam,
Fluidized bed boiler (1,(2 ambient air
Temperature electricity
DSC O2-
Gasification (1 ambient syngas
Temperature depleted
(3 DSC O2-
Plasma gasification ambient syngas
Temperature depleted
Supercritical water DSC 22 MPa- O2-
hydrogen
gasification (4 Temperature 25 MPa depleted
DSC
Pyrolysis (5 ambient anaerobic char, biooil
Temperature
Supercritical water DSC 22 MPa- O2, air, gas (CO 2 ,
(5
oxidation Temperature 25 MPa H2 O2 O2, N2)
(1 - taken from (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005)
(2 - taken from (European Commission, 2001)
(3 - taken from (Mountouris, et al., 2008)
(4 - taken from (Gasafi, et al., 2008)
(5 - taken from (Xu & Lancaster, 2012)
- range of DSC, when self-supported combustion process is possible
- range of DSC, where external energy sources are required

Figure 21. Comparison of WtE technologies.

 56

5 MATERIAL RECOVERY

Application of WWTS and DS generated at paper mills in construction materials production,

as well as reuse within the industry, is one of the possible ways to utilize sludge while seeking
new environmentally-friendly sludge utilization options. It was proposed in the reference
document of BAT for pulp and paper industry (European commission, 2001) to use sludge in
brick production, cement industry, building industry, as well as for road construction. In
addition to the options mentioned, following options seem to be possible: building board,
glass or lightweight aggregate. Fire resistant products manufacturing with sludge is also
possible. However, the selection of a real option is influenced by a number of factors.

The factor with the highest importance is competition of sludge with residues from other
industries that could be potentially used in the same processes as sludge. In addition, costs of
sludge transportation affect the choice of a real utilization option. Moreover, local availability
of suitable processes can be a limiting factor. Thus, real applicability of sludge is not
determined by a limited number of possibilities, but a current situation with existing mills
ready to process this sludge. (European commission, 2001, pp. 384-385; Bird & Talberth,
2008)

5.1 Cement clinker

Addition of sludge into cement production process allows utilization of both energy and
material content of sludge. Firstly, energy content of sludge is utilized in the process when
sludge is calcined together with ordinary raw meal and, secondly, ash left becomes a part of
cement clinker. DS is more appropriate for the process than WWTS due to its content of both
organic and inorganic components. (European Commission, 2010, pp. 49-51,403).

Use of sludge in cement production process has benefits and drawback. Primary desired
chemical elements for cement production are lime – CaO that comes from CaCO3, silica -
SiO2, alumina - Al2O3, and iron. Thus, deinking sludge or its mixture with primary or
secondary sludge can easily fulfill the need on those chemical elements listed in (European
Commission, 2010). On the other hand, technological problems caused by sludge use could
 57

be, firstly, because of low heating value of sludge, if compared to heating value of
conventional fuel used for cement production and, secondly, because of high MC.

As it was stated in chapter 3, DS is usually dewatered up to 50% MC, and WWTP up to 70%
MC. Such sludge can be potentially used in a wet-method cement production process where
raw materials are mixed with water before feeding to the kiln. Thus, that kind of sludge does
not influence technological process in terms of water content. (LenTehStroy, 2013a)

However, dry-method cement production is more popular than the wet one and is considered
to be the only method used for cement manufacturing in the future (LenTehStroy, 2013b).
Sludge with 50% MC is not applicable for the dry-method cement production since can cause
technological problems (Danilova, 2013) Thus, sludge requires further drying up to 5-25%
MC. Drying processes used in PPI are described in chapter 3.4. In addition to the drying
methods mentioned, sludge drying with waste heat generated at a pre-dryer of a cement kiln
can be performed. (Hundebol, 1997)

Ernstbrunner and Fischau (1993) created a patent providing information on how to utilize
moist DS in the dry-method cement production process. The dry-method cement production
with a rotary kiln used for calcination has secondary combustion zone at the rotary kiln inlet
enabling utilization of low-grade fuels as DS in order to replace a fraction of conventional
fuel used for the process. The technique will tend to decreased primary energy consumption
and decreased greenhouse gas emissions since mainly fossil fuels are used as primary energy
sources in cement industry. However, sludge will not be of value in cement mills if the
amount of energy required for water evaporation from sludge increases total energy
consumption compared to that without sludge addition. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)

Sludge was dried with hot flue gases generated in a rotary kiln from 50 to not more than 30%
MC. Since DS contains short wood fibers, it has some energy potential that can contribute to
decrease of the total energy consumption of a cement plant. Moreover, as sludge (especially
DS) contains some inorganic materials, ash left after combustion of sludge is fully integrated
into clinker substituting mineral matter that would be otherwise supplied from another source.
Hence, ash resulting from sludge incineration causes less consumption of ordinary raw
material for the production of standard cement clinker. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)
 58

Dry-method cement production process with sludge addition is shown in Figure 22. A key
element of the production process is a rotary kiln (10), where only an inlet end (9) is
displayed since there is no interest on the whole production process, but only those points
related to sludge drying and its consequent feeding into the kiln. One of the innovative parts is
to install a storage silo (1) equipped with a metering unit (2) connected with a metering
conveyor (3) for wet sludge storage. Metering devices are used to adjust the rate of sludge
addition according to the demand of the kiln. By passing through a gate (4), wet sludge is
supplied into the drying facility (5), where a vibratory dryer or a drying drum is installed. Hot
flue gases (5a) at the temperature of 350-370 oC are blown into the drying facility. Once DS is
dried, it is sent to the gate (8) located close to the kiln by a system consisting of a worm
conveyor (6) and a chute (7). The gate (8) is used for partial sludge addition to the rotary kiln.
Predried sludge with MC of 30% is fed to the secondary combustion zone. By moving along
the kiln’s length, raw material is burnt, calcined and transformed into the clinker.
(Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)

Ordinary raw material, such as limestone and silicate mixtures, is introduced to the process
through an inlet 11a. Firstly, raw meal is crushed in a drying-milling unit (11) that is
connected with a flue gas treatment system (20). Particulate matter captured in flue gas
cleaning equipment is sent to a silo by a conveyor worm (20’). Feeding from the silo located
between the milling unit and a raw meal preheater (12) is implemented through a pass (12a).
In the preheater, direct contact between raw meal and hot glue gases from the kiln occurs
resulting in decreased moisture content of the raw meal and decreased temperature of flue
gases. Then, flue gases are sent to both the drying-milling unit (approximately 80% of total
flue gases generated), and to the sludge drying device (the rest amount of flue gases).
(Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)
 59

Figure 22. Flow-chart of cement production process with sludge addition. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)

In the U.S patent (Hundebol, 1997) the author argues that the method of sludge drying with
hot flue gases described above (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993) results in large amounts of
exhaust gases needed for drying which possibly may contain malodorous and toxic
compounds. Thus, flue gases after the drying process need to be treated extensively before
being released into the atmosphere. The author proposes the use of drying-milling units that
are used widely in cement industry for sludge drying. The advantage is that the gas after
drying is directed to the kiln where high temperatures enable effective destruction of those
 60

malodorous compounds, instead of emitting them to the atmosphere. Expected moisture

content of DS before that process is 50-80%. (Hundebol, 1997)

Table 7. Raw meal analysis. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)

Composition of Without DS, With DS,

raw meal weight-% weight-%
SiO2 13.8 13.4
Al2O3 3.7 3.6
Fe2O3 1.3 1.4
CaO 42.8 43.3
Silicate modulus 2.76 2.68
Lime standard 98.1 102.0

Based on the practical experience it was revealed that the ash resulting from DS incineration
reduces the need for raw meal, used for high quality cement production as shown in Table 7.
Heating value of absolutely dry sludge was 6.7 MJ/kg. Heat consumption without DS addition
was about 3.6 MJ/kg of clinker produced, while with addition 3.3 MJ/kg of clinker produced.
DS with following parameters was proven to be appropriate for the process: DSC – 34.3 to
51.8 weight-%, AC – 43.5 to 66.0 weight-%, heating value 5.5 to 8.6 MJ/kg. Ash resulting
from the sludge incineration contained: 29% CaO, 2.5% MgO, 0.5% SO3, 35% SiO2, 32%
Al2O3, and 1% Fe2O3. Cement kiln temperature stays at the same level as it was before and
equals to 1500 oC. Ordinary raw meal composition is about 75% limestone, 20% clay, 5%
quartz. Total amount of DS added is within 2-10% range. (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993)

5.2 Ceramic products

Ceramic bricks that also refer to as clay bricks are mainly made of clay. Several authors
claimed that DS can be utilized in the production of ceramic materials. The results of their
claims diverge greatly. The reason could be that production processes differ in different
sources. For example, behavior of ceramic bricks made of clay and DS was examined in
(Radovenchik, et al., 2010; Demir , et al., 2005 and Sutcu & Akkurt, 2009). In all cases the
results were mainly negative.

Radovenchik used DS with MC of 68%, AC of 10%. Amount of DS added varied from 0.5 to
6.0% (on dry basis). Increased amount of DS incorporated resulted in increased MC of
 61

furnace feed by 3.0% that consequently caused additional fuel use. However, due to increased
porosity of the material produced less energy was required for its drying since atmospheric
drying was more efficient. In addition, shrinkage rate that shows how much the material will
be reduced in volume with time increases when more sludge is used. This fact causes
problems since shape and dimensions of the material produced are not stable. Strength
properties decreased dramatically (up to 62% shortage when 5.5% of sludge was added). The
only positive result is decreased density of the material. (Radovenchik, et al., 2010)

Similar results were obtained by Demir , et al. (2005). In addition to parameters described
above, water absorption ability of the material produced was analyzed. So, it was increased by
37% when 10% of DS was added. Increased water absorption capacity can, on one hand,
improve setting of concrete with the bricks to make the construction stronger and, on another
hand, increase weight of bricks.

Sutcu and Akkurt (2009) analyzed similar process with DS containing about 60% of inorganic
metter and MC of 65%.The results showed that due to increased porosity of the material
produced with 30% of sludge added, density of material and thermal conductivity decreased
by 67% and 50% respectively. Moreover, mechanical properties of the material intended to be
used in the construction industry decreased much. So, compressive strength of material where
30% of clay was substituted with DS was about eight times lower compared to material made
of ordinary ingridients. (Sutcu & Akkurt, 2009)

High quality ceramics can be produced as stated in the patent (Treschev , et al., 2007).
Following components and their volume-% were used: weak clay – 64-66, DS – 6-9, ferrous
waste – 7-13, keramzite foam clay – 15-20. Composition of DS used is presented below.
Moisture content of sludge was 60-80% and AC about 50%.

Table 8. Chemical composition of DS used in ceramics production.

(modified from Treschev , et al., 2007)

Oxides content, weight-%

SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO Fe2O3 TiO2
26-30 17-20 0.15-0.18 0.2-0.6 0.1-0.3 0.05-0.1
 62

Several samples with different amounts of DS were prepared and tested. The results of the
tests are shown in Table 9. As it is seen from the table, properties of samples 1, 2, 3 and 4 are
better than that of the reference sample.

Table 9. Ceramic mass composition and properties of ready material. (modified from Treschev , et al., 2007)

Sample numbers and their composition

Components (dried) Reference sample
1 2 3 4 5
Weak clay 68 66 65 64 64 70
DS 5.6 6 8 9 9.5 -
Sawdust - - - - - 18
Ferrous slurry - - - - - 12
Ferrous waste 12.4 13 9 7 6 -
Keramzite clay 14 15 18 20 20.5 -
Parameter tested
Compressive strength, MPa 30.2 31.5 24.2 30.7 17.1 18.7
General shrinkage rate 8.0 8.12 8.75 9.00 9.27 12.4

To conclude, sludge could be used for the ceramics production without deterioration of final
product if produced as stated in the patent (Treschev , et al., 2007). However, three other
literature sources provided extensive information that incorporation of DS decreases
properties of the final product. It could be so that the patent was not checked properly and
does not work if really applied.

5.3 Pozzolanic material

Pozzolanic material or simply pozzolan is defined as “a siliceous or siliceous and aluminous

material, which in itself possesses little or no cementing property, but will in a finely divided
form - and in the presence of moisture - chemically react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary
temperatures to form compounds possessing cementitious properties” (Brunjes, 2008).
Pozzolanic activity means to react with lime at normal conditions resulting in generation of
viscous phases (MetaPro, 2011). Moreover, addition of 15% of pozzolan makes bonds with
lime, thus, preventing bloom generation, that is known to be a problem in construction
industry (Pozzolanic additives to cement, 2010). Hundebol in his patent (1994) described a
process of pozzolanic material production. In the ways given in the patent, kaolinic fraction of
DS is transformed into a pozzolanic material in an environmentally safe and economic way.
 63

As stated in the patent, pozzolan is a material consisting of Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2 or similar to
those mentioned. The most obvious method of pozzolan production is thermal treatment in a
long rotary kiln as described in a patent (Hundebol, 1997), however, malodorous gases can be
generated, as well as external fuel will be required for the process. The scheme of pozzolan
production is displayed in Figure 23. (Hundebol, 1994)

Wet DS is sent from a silo (7) by any applicable mean of transportation (a belt or a worm
conveyor) to a dryer-сrusher (1). At the same time, hot flue gases from a kiln system (3) via a
duct (5) are supplied to the dryer-crusher in order to maintain sludge drying process. Dried
sludge via a duct (9) is then directed to a separator (13) where solid particles are separated
from gases that are sent then with a help of a fan (11) via a duct (27) to a cooler (25).
Separated sludge is stored later in a silo (15) until it is used in the process. Feeding of sludge
from the silo (15) to a burner (17) of the kiln system (3) is done by use of a screw conveyor,
for example. The burner (17) is located inside the rotary kiln (21). Warm gases from the
cooler (25) are used for incineration process, where they are heated up by heat generated
during sludge combustion. Once exhaust gases are generated in the kiln, they are sent for
treatment into a cyclone (23). Separated particles are sent back to the kiln, while exhaust
gases are used again for DS drying. (Hundebol, 1994)

In the kiln, remained ash is led backward because of the rotation of the kiln and its
inclination. Thus, direction of ash movement is opposite to the flame direction. Ash is sent
below the flame and is being subjected to heat treatment under special conditions with
maximum temperature of 700-850 oC. Next step is ash cooling in the cooler (25). The ready
product that is often nodulized requires further grinding before being applied. It was assumed
in the patent that the plant will be heat producing and a part of hot flue gases can be used for
heat recovery in an economizer (41) with further glue gas treatment before releasing into the
atmosphere. An electrostatic precipitator of a bag filter can be used for flue gas treatment.
Amount of flue gases released is replaced with fresh air that is supplied through an air intake
(10). (Hundebol, 1994)
 64

Figure 23. Flow-chart of pozzolan material production from DS. (Hundebol, 1994)

Biermann, et al. (1996) in his patent proposed the use of FBB for pozzolan material
production at the same temperatures as in the previous patent to activate pozzolanic properties
of DS. Utilization of DS in the production of pozzolanic material had positive influence on
mortars properties prepared with sludge addition (Frias, et al., 2011).
 65

5.4 Cement mortar

Cement mortar is based on organic filling material, produced from formation and
solidification of a mixture consisting of Portland cement, DS, chemical additives, and water.
For building blocks production from cement mortar, technical specification TU 69 USSR 82-
84 “Building blocks made of cement mortar for farm building” was created in Ukraine. The
material was classified as insulating concrete. (Pavel, 2008)

Average consumption of raw materials for the production of 1m3 of building blocks is:
Portland cement M400 – 230 kg, sludge (as absolutely dry solids) – 500 kg. Production of
blocks is performed by blending of wet sludge with Portland cement without water.
Compressing of the mixture produced in done at pressure of 0.08-0.12 MPa. Mode of
solidification of blocks is natural or artificial drying. To prevent dried blocks from water
absorption, its opened surface is recommended to be covered with repellent. (Pavel, 2008)

Pilot plant was established in Ukraine to produce such building blocks. To check real
applicability of the blocks, two houses were built: one was built as a monolithic construction,
and another one from small piece materials. Thermo technical properties of the houses were
analyzed. Heat conductivity was equal to 0.2 W/(m∙oC) for material density of 600-650 kg/m3,
and 0.3 W/(m∙oC) for material density of 750-800 kg/ m3. Heat protection was higher than
required by legislation. It enabled to decrease thickness of the walls made of the blocks until
18 cm. (Pavel, 2008) In other words, application of sludge in cement mortar production was
proven to be successful in terms of energy efficiency of the buildings made of the cement
blocks.

5.5 Lightweight aggregate

Lightweight aggregate is a type of large sized aggregate used in the production of lightweight
concrete products. Flow-chart of the production process is depicted in Figure 24. Firstly,
required amount of DS is taken from a silo (1) and then is mixed together with cement in a
mixer (2). Mixing is implemented in a thorough way. Well mixed blend is then sent to a
pelletizing machine (3) where granules are produced. Last stage of the whole process is
drying of the material produced at the temperature of 100-105 oC. (Liaw, et al., 1998)
 66

1 2 3 4

1. Paper sludge silo;

Cement
2. Mixer;
additive
3. Pelletizing machine;
4. Dryer.

Figure 24. Flow-chart of lightweight aggregate production. (modified from Liaw, et al., 1998)

Chemical composition of DS utilized is presented in Table 10. Most probably, kaolin and talc
were used as fillers in recycled paper processed in a paper mill where sludge was generated
since amounts of SiO2 and Al2O3 are the biggest. Relatively low content of calcium oxide was
determined.

Table 10. Composition of sludge used for lightweight

aggregate production (Liaw, et al., 1998).

Average
Moisture content of sludge, % 75.40
Loss of ignition of dried sludge, % 70.11
AC, % 30.0
SiO2 37.99
Al2O3 51.72
Fe2O3 3.04
CaO 5.09
MgO 3.10

Testing of the material produced included determination of volumetric specific gravity. The
results from analyses showed that the best mixing time is about 10 minutes when any
cement/DS ratio can be used for material production to obtain lightweight aggregate with
volumetric density less than 1.0. If material has been mixed for 40 minutes then only
cement/DS ratio less than 0.6 can be used. Thus, the longer raw meal is mixed, the more
density of the material produced. (Liaw, et al., 1998)
 67

Test bricks with dimensions of 40 cm∙10 cm∙10 cm were prepared using aggregate material
produced from sludge. One brick weighted 5.4 kg that is 23% less compared to the one
produced from concrete (7 kg). Compressive strength can reach 1780 psi, that is almost the
same as set for loadbearing concrete masonry units in the Standard Specification for Concrete
Brick (Hanson, 2009). To recapitulate, porosity of light-weight aggregate produced is lower,
if mixing time is shorter. Moreover, incorporation of sludge has positive influence on light-
weight aggregate produced because of decreased density, while compressive strength stays in
acceptable limits.

5.6 Insulating material

Utilization of DS in the production of insulating material is described in (Cavaleri & Contu,

2011; Morozova & Shargatov, 2001; Zvyagina & Pushnoy , 1996). All authors offer different
production ways and different insulation materials produced. Cavaleri & Contu (2011)
describe production of thermal and/or acoustic insulation material in the form of flakes. It was
stated that sludge containing long fibers is more appropriate for the production process.
Presence of inorganic content decreases insulating properties of the material being produced.
The production process is displayed in Figure 25. (Cavaleri & Contu, 2011)

DS with moisture content between 25-60% was used in the process. Firstly, sludge is stored in
a silo (1), if needed. In addition to storage function, the silo is used as a mixing point where
liquid additives, such as fungicides, flame retardants, and coloring agents are added to sludge,
if required. Then the mixture is sent for drying process to a drying machine (2) and after that
the mixture is hammered in a crusher (3) until its shape is flake-like. Also, powder additives
can be added in the crusher, if required. (Cavaleri & Contu, 2011)
 68

Powder
additives
1 2 3
Liquid
additives

1. Paper sludge silo;

2. Drier;
3. Crusher.

Figure 25. Production of flakes-like insulating material. (modified from Cavaleri & Contu, 2011).

Another way to produce insulating material from DS is to produce it in the form of boards.
The material produced, as described in the patent (Morozova & Shargatov, 2001), can be used
for manufacturing of wall panels used for thermal insulation of residential, industrial, and
other buildings, as well as for thermal insulation of hot and cold water and steam pipelines.
The raw meal is prepared in the following mixture ratio, weight-%: Portland cement M500
10-30, DS 60-80, plasticizing agent 0.05, solution for sludge impregnation in order to increase
its fire resistance “Wuprotech” 1-3, foam-forming admixture to increase porosity of the ready
material “Morpen” 1-3, water 4-6. DS used in the patent contained 7-9% of fiber (on dry
basis). Production process of such material is shown in Figure 26. (Morozova & Shargatov,
2001)

DS from a silo (1) is mixed in a mixing unit (3) with Wuprotech stored in a vessel (2). Then
DS is dewatered (4) in order to remove excess amounts of Wuprotech, which could be sent
back to the process via a duct (5). Also, dewatered sludge is treated with a combination of
cement wash and sodium glass in order to increase its fire-resistant properties. In a final
mixing unit (6), water and Morpen are frothed well until strong foam is generated. Then,
treated DS, as well as Portland cement and plasticizing agent, are added into the mixing unit
(6) and mixed there during not more than 5 minutes. (Morozova & Shargatov, 2001)
 69

1 Portland Plasticizing
cement agent
3
Water
4 Morpen

Cement
wash and 6
sodium glass

5 1. Paper sludge silo;

2. Wuprotech vessel;
3. Mixing unit;
4. Filtration unit;
5. Duct;
6. Final mixing unit.

Figure 26. Production of raw construction mixture for manufacturing of insulating material. (Morozova &
Shargatov, 2001)

Produced raw construction mixture then placed into forms or applied to any surface requiring
insulating and dried at temperature of 50-60oC for 10 hours. Several samples (with
dimensions of 100mm∙100mm∙100mm and 150mm∙150mm∙150mm) made of the raw
construction mixture were produced. Analyses of such samples have shown that the material
produced from the mixture is nonflammable with thermal conductivity coefficient of 0.07-0.1
W/(m∙oC) at the temperature of 25oC. (Morozova & Shargatov, 2001)

Another way of insulating material production is described in the patent (Zvyagina &
Pushnoy , 1996). For the production of insulating material following components and their
amounts in weight-% are required: cement – 22-30, granulated DS with density of 300-400
kg/m3 – 56-66, and latex – 12-14. Instead of using foaming admixture as in previous case,
dewatered until 40% moisture in press machine (2) DS is granulated by filters (3) as shown in
Figure 27. After that, DS is dried in a rotary kiln (4) until moisture content of 5-10%. Dried
sludge then is fed to a mortar-mixing unit where cement and latex are added as well.
(Zvyagina & Pushnoy , 1996)
 70

1 2 3 4 5

1. Paper sludge silo;

2. Press machine;
3. Formation machine;
4. Rotary drier;
5. Mortar-mixing machine.

Figure 27. Production of insulating material from granulated DS. (Zvyagina & Pushnoy , 1996)

Lastly, the mixture formed is placed into forms under pressure of 1-2 kgf/cm2 for 1 hour.
Then, the pressure is removed and the material is left to stay for one day until being stripped.
Thermal conductivity coefficient was determined for the samples with dimensions of
250mm∙250mm∙30mm. The coefficient was 0.07-0.08 W/(m∙oC). (Zvyagina & Pushnoy ,
1996)

In general, DS can be widely used in the production of thermal and acoustic insulating
material. Different production processes are known with different additives. Thermal
conductivity coefficient for obtained materials was between 0.07-0.1 Wt//(m∙oC) that is
somewhat similar or less than that of lightweight concrete (0.1-0.3 Wt//(m∙oC)) (The
engineering toolbox, 2013).

5.7 Fiberboard

Softboard

Softboard is low density fibreboard made in the form of plate sheets of various dimensions. In
the patent (Baibarisov, et al., 1994), softboards were produced with DS. Following
components and their shares in weight-% (on dry basis) were used: DS – 8-12, sludge
generated from wastewater treatment in the stock preparation unit of PPI or wood-processing
factory – 68-79, sawdust with a fraction of less than 5 mm – 12-18, water repellant – 1-2.
 71

Softboards were produced in accordance with the production process described in Figure 28,
and the given composition had better bending strength, while the rest parameters stayed in
permissible range stated in a valid in Russia State Standard (GOST 4598-86 "Fibre boards.
Specifications", 1986). (Baibarisov, et al., 1994)

Water 4
5 6
2 repellant

1. Paper sludge silo;

2. Sludge silo;
3. Screening unit;
4. Mixing machine;
5. Water extraction unit;
6. Drier.
Figure 28. Softboard production process with DS addition. (Baibarisov, et al., 1994)

Firstly, DS from a silo (1), sludge generated in the stockpreparating unit of PPI or wood-
processing mill from a silo (2), and screened sawdust from a silo (3) are mixed in a mixing
unit (4) with water repellant (paraffin). After the mixing process the produced composition is
injected into the press-mould, and then dewatered with vacuum (5). Last stage is to dry
dewatered softboards in a drying facility (6). (Baibarisov, et al., 1994)

Hardboard

Hardboards are manufactured from low quality wood materials. Waste materials such as DS
can also be in the process. In the patent (Denisov, et al., 2003), manufacturing process for the
production of hardboard with sludge generated at PPI is described. Sludge used in the patent
had following characteristics: weight fraction of fiber – 66%, weight fraction of other wood-
based materials – 0.8%, weight fraction of inorganic part – 5.2%, weight fraction of
secondary sludge – 27%, pH – 6.8. Following materials and their weight fractions were used
 72

in the production of hardboard in the patent: wood fiber – 68-88, sludge – 10-30%, resin – 1,
paraffin – 1, sulfuric acid – 1. For the production of hardboard in the laboratory, all materials
were blended and the mixture obtained was injected into mould, then dewatered until 55%
MC and then presses at 185oC for 8 minutes. Water absorption and swell value were slightly
increasing with increasing share of sludge, but stated within the permissible range given in
(GOST 4598-86 "Fibre boards. Specifications", 1986). (Denisov, et al., 2003)

To summarize what has been told before, incorporation of sludge into the production of soft-
and hardboard makes slight changes to the final material, however, those changes lay within
the acceptable range stated by the Governmental Standard valid in Russia.

5.8 Use in limekiln

Almost all Kraft-pulping mills are equipped with a system for lime recovering from lime
sludge. Amount of lime sludge generated is 400 kg per tonne of pulp produced. Recovering is
done in a limekiln that is a rotating drum kiln. Main reaction of the process is endothermic
calcium carbonate decomposition. Heat consumption for lime sludge calcination is 10 MJ per
1 kg of calcined lime. (Milovidova, et al., 2010, p. 52)

Temperature of the process is about 1100-1300 oC, however optimal temperature of the
process depends on inert additives content as presented in Table 11. Inert additives, especially
silicates are melted at high temperatures and, thus, generate glass-like coating causing
problems when lime is slaked. (Nepenin, 1990, p. 510)

Table 11. Optimal temperature of calcination process depending on

inert additives content. (Nepenin, 1990, p. 510)

Inert additives content, % High limit temperature, oC

3-5 1000-1300
5-8 950-1200
>8 950-975

Moisture content of lime sludge fed should not exceed 55% and content of Na2O should be
less than 1%. Otherwise, rings of lime will be generated on the kiln inner surface causing
technological problems. Composition of lime sludge is given below. (Nepenin, 1990, p. 513)
 73

Table 12. Composition of lime sludge fed into the

limekiln. (Milovidova, et al., 2010, p. 108)

Element Share, %
CaCO3 >95
Na2O <0.2
SiO3- <0.2
Al <0.5
FexOy <0.5
NaSO4 <0.01
CaO <0.5

During the caustisizing and recovering, some part of CaO is lost. To cover the losses of CaO
in the system, limestone is used. Amount of limestone used ranges from 10% to 15% of lime
sludge fed into the process (Milovidova, et al., 2010, p. 74). Limestone is used since about 52
– 53% of limestone is CaO that is required for the process.

As of 2013, there was no scientific article available about DS utilization in a drum kiln.
Nevertheless, DS is expected to be rich in calcium carbonate coming from paper filler and,
thus, to be appropriate for the process. Content of calcium oxide that is generated as a result
of calcium carbonate thermal decomposition is shown in Table 3.
 74

5.9 Review of material recovery possibilities

Basically, all material recovery possibilities could be divided into three categories:

(1) inorganic materials requiring;

(2) fiber requiring;
(3) fiber and inorganic matter requiring.

For the production of cement clinker, pozzolanic material, ceramic products and for
utilization in limekilns high inorganic content of DS is required. On contrary, for the
production of insulating material, softboard, and hardboard, fiber is needed mostly. And
lastly, in lightweight aggregate and cement mortar production both fiber and inorganic matter
are utilized. WWTS is not recommended for utilization in construction materials production
in terms of material recovery since that type of sludge does not contain any valuable inorganic
substances or wood fibers.

Comparison of sludge material recovery options is presented in Appendix V. Information

from real experiments with DS application as an additive was gathered so, that only main
criteria of sludge used are presented, while the conditions and equipment used during the
manufacturing processes can be found in the corresponding chapters of the study. Elements
which presence in DS is highly recommended are given in Appendix V to make the selection
of the real utilization way simpler.

Cement clinker production is extremely dependent on calcium oxide that comes from calcium
carbonate. Moreover, availability of silica, alumina, and iron makes DS more applicable for
the process. However, alkaline metals can cause problems in the kiln, so their content in DS
should be maximally limited. That is why elements that should be avoided in DS are
displayed in Appendix V as well. In addition, moisture content, as one of the crucial factors
influencing possibility of sludge utilization, that DS should have before being used is
presented.
 75

6 LEGISLATION IN RUSSIA

In previous chapters, main focus of the thesis was on the technological aspect of sludge
utilization. However, application of certain technologies must be in compliance with the
current legislation of the Russian Federation. In this chapter, information on the legislation
system on waste management in the Russian Federation, and the Leningrad Region
particularly, will be provided.

The main legislative act regulating relations in the waste management sector in Russia is the
Federal Law dated 24.06.1998 №89-FL “On production and consumption waste” (with
changes and updates come into force on 23.09.2012) (Federal Law "On production and
consumption waste" № 89, 1998). All waste regulations in Russia must follow principles of
the 89-FL. The 89-FL has not been changed much since 2008 (Consultant plus, 2012). Main
changes were related to the terminology used in the law. According to the last changes, waste
with V class of hazard (almost non-hazard) are no longer classified as hazardous waste and
their management should not be licensed, while management of waste that belong to I-IV
classes of hazard (I – extremely hazard, II – high-hazard, III – relatively hazard, IV – low-
hazard) is licensed. It worth mentioning that DS and WWTS usually are of IV or V hazard
class.

One of the basic principles realized in the law is the payment for environment use. These
payments are the compensation of damage caused by businesses to the environment. One of
such fees is the waste disposal fee that is charged for waste disposal on landfills and depends
on the waste type that are classified in accordance with the Federal classification catalogue
on waste (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Russian
Federation, 2002) that is a part of the State waste inventory (Order of Minprirodi of Russia
№792, 2011). Most paper production waste refers to IV or V class of hazard. Pulp and paper
mills should pay 37.5 eurocents/tonne of V hazard class waste generated (for comparison,
disposal fee for I hazard class is 43 Euro), but still can be changed depending on the current
situation (Klepach', et al., 2010, p. 59). This cost does not include disposal fee paid for sludge
transportation and actual landfilling. V class hazardous waste are simpler to be handled
(transported, stored etc.) in accordance with the item 30 of article 12 of the Federal Law
 76

dated 04.05.2011 №99-FL “On licensing of certain types of activity” (with changes and
updates come into force on 01.01.2013) (Federal Law "On licensing of certaing types of
activity" №99, 2011). In compliance with the item, only treatment and disposal of waste of I-
IV class of hazard is licensed. It means that companies can avoid bureaucracy to get the
license and can freely transport their waste.

Low waste disposal fee for V class waste, that are usually generated in large volumes and
ease of its management tended to the situation when waste landfilling is a major disposal
practice. In European countries, incentives or lower tax rates are practiced to support
environmentally friendly technologies application. According to the 89-FL: “economic
motivation of activities in waste management field is implemented by waste disposal fee
reduction…, if implementation of technologies enabling waste reduction is done.” (Federal
Law "On production and consumption waste" № 89, 1998)

The most important event in the environment protection field in Russia in 2012 was approval
of “Basics of state policy in the field of environmental development of Russia by 2030” by the
President, Dmitri Medvedev, on 30th of April, 2012. (Russian Government, 2012). A lot of
principles and mechanisms were described. Only those, related to the topic will be
reproduced. Firstly, to reduce negative environmental impact following mechanisms are to be
implemented: “b) reduction of … waste generation until the level corresponding to the
analogical one gained in economically developed countries” and “z) implementation of the
measures provided by the Climate doctrine of Russia…” Then, in the performance of
environmentally safe waste management implementation so called mechanism “polluter pays”
should be used. No information on real financial support is presented, but this information
should be found in regional documents that are created to fulfill the Basics requirements.

Another driving force for modernization of equipment is the Climate doctrine (Russian
Government., 2009), where federal bodies of state power are asked to develop financial
mechanisms, including taxation system, contributing to mills improvement, as well as to
intensification of renewable energy use. WWTS and DS are potential sources of renewable
energy since contain biobased materials.
 77

Item 1 of article 18 of the Federal Law dated 04.05.1999 №96-FL “On atmosphere
protection” (revised on 25.06.2012) (Federal Law "On atmosphere protection" №96, 1999)
prohibits waste incineration without special equipment applied. This equipment is given in
GOST R 54205-2010: “Resources conservation. Waste treatment. Best available techniques
for improving energy efficiency on incineration” dated 01.01.2012 (GOST R 54205-2010,
2012). In general terms, the GOST is almost a translated copy of the Reference document on
best available techniques for waste incineration (European commission, 2006). The best
available technique for sludge incineration according to the GOST is FBB that is
characterized with higher efficiency of incineration and small volumes of flue gases
generated.

In 29.05.2012 the Government of Saint-Petersburg approved the program “Regional target

program on municipal solid and industrial waste management over the period 2012-2020”
(Saint-Petersburg resolution of 29.05.2012 N524, 2012). The objective of the program is
“increase of environmental safety of citizens of Saint-Petersburg and reduction of damage to
environment during management of production and consumption waste by modernization of
existing in Saint-Petersburg system of waste collection, transportation and treatment.” Waste
composting was recognized as inefficient in economic and ecological terms so in the
framework of the program next technologies will be implemented: (1) solid recovered fuel
production (SRF) with possibilities to adjust its properties in order to fulfill customer’s needs;
(2) MSW utilization in reactors with plasma gasification technology being applied. First
option is projected by a Greece company. The latter one will be based on reconstruction of
current “Zavod MPBO-2”. Both of them are aimed to treat MSW rather than industrial waste.

According to the GOST R 54535-2011 dated 01.01.2013 “Resources saving. Sewage sludge.
Requirements for waste dispose and use at landfills” (2013), sludge can be landfilled if
sludge is III-V class of hazard, contains not less than 15% DS and 20% of ash, has pH of 5.0-
12.0, its chemical oxygen demand is 5000 mg-O2/dm3 and biochemical oxygen demand is
4000 mg-O2/dm3. Utilization of waste as a secondary raw material is prioritized more than
landfilling. (GOST R 54535-2011, 2013)
7 PULP AND PAPER COMPANIES OF THE LENINGRAD REGION

In the current chapter, companies producing pulp, paper and cardboard and, as a result,
generating sludge will be characterized. Characterization includes description of raw material
used, type of commodities being produced at the companies and depiction of wastewater and
sludge treatment processes applied at the companies. Results of chemical and thermotechnical
analyses of sludge will be presented, where possible.

Information about following companies was gathered:

- “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”, Svetogorsk (SCA, 2013);

- “International paper”, Svetogorsk (International Paper, 2013);
- “Knauf”, Kommunar;
- “Syassky pulp and paper mill”, Syas (JSC "Syassky Pulp & Paper Mill", 2009).

Information for the chapter was obtained from either interviews with the companies’
representatives, or master’s theses from previous years written at Saint-Petersburg State
Technological University of Plant Polymers.

7.1 “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”, Svetogorsk

SCA paper mill is located in Svetogorsk city in the north-west part of the LR (see Appendix
VI). The factory produces tissue paper from recycled one. The fiber to the mill comes mainly
from printing houses what makes the composition of recycled paper constant over the time.
Production process includes a deinking unit resulting in generation of sludge in large
volumes.

Sludge generation rate varies from 100 to 190 t/day with average sludge generation rate of
150 t/day. Sludge generation process is shown in Figure 29. Amount of sludge generated
depends on the grammage of the tissue being produced (from 19 to 23 g/cm2). High amount
of sludge generated at the mill results from the requirements on tissue paper composition. The
paper must not contain much additives to fulfill hygienic normative set legislation. The more
the grammage is, the more sludge is generated. According to the environmental manager of
the mill (Tunichenko, 2013), ash content of sludge and its MC does not change much with
 79

time and equal to approximately 60% and 50% respectively. Bulk density of sludge is 0.6
g/cm3. Sludge is solid substance without leaking. Most part of sludge is sent for landfilling,
while only a small fraction (about 15 tonnes/week) is supplied for cat litter production.

7.1.1 Deinking sludge generation process

Wastewater generated during stock preparation operations is mixed with flocculating agent
and sent for treatment into a flotation unit (1). Wastewater generated at the papermaking
machine is treated in a tilted plate flotation unit (2). Industrial wastewater from other
equipment is treated in a flotation unit (3). Scum generated in flotation units (1), (2), (3) is
collected in a scum tank (4) before further treatment.

Figure 29. Flow-chart of wastewater and sludge treatment at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” factory.

Scum that also refers to as flotation sludge is thickened in a gravity table (5) where MC of
sludge decreases from 98-99 to 90%. After that, sludge is dewatered, firstly, in a belt filter-
press (6) until MC of approximately 70% and, secondly, in a screw press (7) until final MC is
about 50%.
 80

7.1.2 Analyses of deinking sludge

Sludge sampled at SCA mill was analyzed to determine its heating value and chemical
composition. Heating value analyses were performed in the laboratory of LUT Energy.
Analyses were done with preliminary dried sludge. Moisture content of sludge in arrival
conditions before heating value determination was 49.6%. Higher heating value on dry basis
(HHVd) was determined in a bomb calorimeter and the results of analyses are presented in
Table 13. Standard deviation of the results is acceptable in accordance with the (GOST 147-
95, 2010).

Table 13. Heating value of sludge sampled at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”.

Sample number HHVd, kJ/kg LHVd, MJ/kg LHVar, MJ/kg

1. 7070
2. 7040
6.01 1.82
3. 7070
average 7060±14

Lower heating value on dry basis was calculated as follows:

( ) ( ) ; (1)

where HHVd – average higher heating value of dry material, MJ/kg;

l – latent heat of evaporation for H2O (T=25 oC) = 2.441 MJ/kg;
MH2O – molar mass of water from combustion of H2. g/mol;
MH2O – molar mass of combusted hydrogen, g/mol;
H – decimal percents of hydrogen on a dry basis = 4.8%.

Hydrogen content is taken as an average from hydrogen content of tree deinking sludge types
and two recycled paper mills presented in Table 1.
 81

Lower heating value of sludge in arrival conditions was calculated as follows:

( )

( ) ; (2)

where LHVd – lower heating value of dry material, MJ/kg;

l – latent heat of evaporation for H2O (T=25 oC) = 2.441 MJ/kg;
wH2O – moisture content of sludge.
Chemical analyses of the sludge were performed in the accredited laboratory of the Federal
State Unitary Enterprise “All-Russian Research Institute of metrology named after D. I.
Mendeleev” and the results are given in Table 14.

Amount of elements is presented on dry basis. High share of calcium (15.51 weight-%)
compared to the rest elements presented demonstrates availability of Ca(CO3) in sludge
generated at the mill. It is also noticeable that the content of aluminum is higher than share of
the rest elements from the list and equals to 3.2 weight-%. Presence of sodium and potassium,
alkaline metals, is negligible and accounts less than 0.09 weight-%.
Table 14. Chemical composition of sludge sampled at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”.

Measured Analysis Measurement results

No
component method S1 S2 S3 S4 Average
Moisture content
1. (mass fraction of
weight loos while 47.8 48.3 47.9 46.8 47.7±0.55
drying) at 105 oC,
% Gravimetrical
Ash content.
2. Measured at
42.9 42.9 42.8 42.8 42.85±0.05
1050oC, based on
the dry matter, %
Weight content of
3. carbon, based on
the dry matter, % Infrared
C total spectrometric 24.0 24.3 24.4 25.2 24.5±0.44
C organic 18.97 19.2 18.97 19.75 19.22±0.32
C inorganic 5.04 5.10 5.40 5.44 5.25±0.18
4. Calcium, % 15.32 15.78 14.99 15.95 15.51±0.38
5. Aluminum, % 3.36 3.45 2.97 3.02 3.2±0.21
6. Iron, % 0.127 0.126 0.117 0.116 0.12±0.01
7. Magnesium, % 0.24 0.23 0.022 0.22 0.18±0.09
8. Sodium, % <0.0005 <0.0005 <0.0005 <0.0005 0.0005
9. Potassium, % 0.093 0.064 0.068 0.056 0.07±0.01
Atomic
10. Cobalt, mg/kg <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 0.5
emissive
11. Nickel, mg/kg with <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 0.5
inductively
12. Lead, mg/kg <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 0.5
coupled
13. Cadmium, mg/kg plasma <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 0.5
14. Cupper, mg/kg 85.9 83.1 82.6 83.0 83.65±1.31
15. Zink, mg/kg 22.8 23.9 26.1 20.9 23.43±1.88
16. Manganese, mg/kg 66.7 66.4 64.9 63.3 65.33±1.35
17. Chrome, mg/kg 10.37 10.40 10.79 8.95 10.13±0.7
18. Arsenic, mg/kg <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 0.5
19. Titan, mg/kg 110 139 98.9 92.0 109.98±17.9
 83

7.2 “International Paper”, Svetogorsk

Factory is located in Svetogorsk (see Appendix VI) and leases a part of its land to “SCA
Hygiene Products Russia”. The company produces mainly Kraft-pulp and chemi-
thermomechanical pulp. Feedstock for the production process is virgin wood only.
Wastewater at the factory is treated as shown in Figure 30. No information about chemical
composition or thermotechnical properties of sludge was obtained. It can be assumed that
sludge has properties similar to those shown in Table 1 in first two rows.

7.2.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process

Wastewater generated during Kraft-pulp production process, is sent, firstly, to a primary

clarifier (1) for suspended solids precipitation, and then to an aerotank (2) for biological
treatment. Activated sludge is separated from treated wastewater in a secondary clarifier (3).
At the same time, wastewater generated during chemi-thermomechanical pulping is treated in
a flotation unit (4) where suspended solids are separated. Then wastewater is biologically
treated in an aerotank (5). Activated sludge is separated in a flotation unit (6). A part of
activated sludge is returned back to the aerotanks, while the rest sludge that is called excess
biomass is thickened in a flotation unit (7) together with primary sludge, from the clarifier (1)
and the flotation unit (4). MC of excess biomass to be thickened is about 99%, while after
thickening MC is reduced to 95-97%. Compacted sludge is dewatered in a membrane
chamber filter-press (8) until final MC is approximately 60-70%. In such conditions
dewatered sludge is combusted in a multi-fuel boiler used for energy production.
 84

Figure 30. Flow-chart of wastewater and sludge treatment at “International Paper” mill.

7.3 “Knauf”, Kommunar

The mill located in Kommunar (see Appendix VI) manufactures cardboard that is used in the
production of construction materials mainly, while some smaller quantity is used for
packaging production. The mill uses from 85 to 100% recycled fiber depending on the type of
cardboard being produced. Amount of primary sludge generated daily at the mill is 36 tonnes,
while the amount of mixed sludge from biological treatment plant is 145 tonnes/day.

Primary sludge is generated at the stage of fine screening where recycled fibers are treated
from polyethylene left. Moreover, short fiber is lost during the process. Waste generated is
sent to dewatering and then stored at the mill until being transported to landfill. In addition to
that, a flotation unit is installed in there for recycled water treatment. Major component
separated during wastewater treatment is short fiber. Fiber separated is dewatered together
 85

with other waste flow described before. Composition and properties of primary sludge are
presented below.

Table 15. Composition of primary sludge

generated at “Knauf” factory.

Parameter Share
MC, % 65
Fiber, % 92
SiO2, % 6.37
Polyethylene, % 1.14
Polypropylene, % 0.29
Polyvinylchlorid, % 0.2

Thus, primary sludge generated consists mainly of fiber with some minor addition of silica
oxide. Its aggregate state is solid. No calcium is present in sludge. Heating value of sludge is
unknown.

7.3.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process

Secondary sludge generated at the mill is of more importance since its volumes are large.
Sludge is generated at the biological treatment plant, which flow-chart is depicted in Figure
31.

Wastewater generated in the production process is, firstly, mixed with flocculants to increase
separation efficiency and then is treated from suspended solids in a sand separator (1). After
sand is removed, wastewater flow is sent to a primary clarifier (2) where large enough
particles are precipitated under gravity force. Sediments generate sludge that is directed to a
sludge thickener (7) for further treatment. Next, clarified wastewater enters a first stage
aerotank (3) where biological treatment takes place. Microorganisms use organic matter
contained in wastewater as feedstock for growth and reproduction. Thus, biochemical oxygen
demand is decreased, while amount of biomass in the system increased. Biomass is separated
in a secondary clarifier (4) and wastewater flow is directed to a second stage aerotank (5)
where the same process takes place. Biologically treated wastewater is, finally, sent for
tertiary treatment before being reused or discharged to a water basin.
 86

1 2 3 4

Wastewater

5
Sand
6
Wastewater
for tertiary
treatment

7 9

12
8
10

Biosolids for
landfilling
11

1. Sand separator; 5. Second stage aerotank; 9. Filter-press; Wastewater

2. Primary clarifier; 6. Secondary clarifier; 10. Centrifuge;
3. First stage aerotank; 7. Sludge thickener; 11. Centrifuge-decanter; Secondary/excess sludge
4. Secondary clarifier; 8. Vessel; 12. Storage silo. Recycled activated sludge

Figure 31. Secondary sludge generation process at “Knauf” factory.

 87

A part of biomass separated in the clarifiers (4) and (6) is send back to the aerotanks (3) and
(5) respectively, while the rest excess biomass is subjected to further treatment in the sludge
thickener. Secondary sludge is compacted in the thickener until its moisture content is 97%.
Supernatant generated is sent back to the primary clarifier. Compacted secondary sludge is
sent then for dewatering into a filter-press (9), a centrifuge (10), or a centrifuge-decanter (11).
Dewatered sludge that also refers to as biosolids has MC of about 70%. It is stored in a silo
until being landfilled.

7.3.2 Analyses of sludge

Composition of sludge and its characteristics are presented in Table 16. Content of all
chemical substances is presented on dry basis.

Table 16. Properties of secondary sludge

generated at “Knauf” factory.

Parameter Amount
MC, % 70.1
Organic matter, % 78.6
SiO2, % 18.71
Oil product, % 0.14
Fe, % 0.20
PO3-, % 2.27
Cu, mg/kg 204.01
Zn, mg/kg 113.71
Pb, mg/kg 153.85
Cd, mg/kg 0.33
Co, mg/kg 10.37
Ni, mg/kg 50.17
Mn, mg/kg 163.88
Cr, mg/kg 30.10
HHVd, MJ/kg 9,91
LHVar, MJ/kg 1,17

Similarly to primary sludge, secondary sludge is rich in organic matter. However, organic
matter presented is mostly excess biomass. This determines relatively high heating value of
sludge on dry basis, while high MC makes it unacceptably low for incineration without
pretreatment. Inorganic content is presented mainly by silica oxide.
 88

7.4 “Syassky pulp and paper mill”, Syas’

The pulp mill is located in Syas’stroy city (see Appendix VI) and produces sulfite pulp,
chemical-mechanical pulp, wrapping paper, and tissue paper. The mill uses only virgin fiber
for the production processes. Thus, no deinking unit is installed. Wastewater treatment plant
flow-chart is illustrated in Figure 32.

7.4.1 Wastewater treatment sludge generation process

All wastewater generated in the production processes is collected together for the treatment.
Wastewater is mixed with flocculants for enhancing sedimentation process in a sand separator
(1) and a primary clarifier (2). Primary sludge is thickened in a sludge thickener (5) with
further flocculants addition. After it, sludge is dewatered in a separator (6) until its MC is
approximately 60 %. Dewatered sludge is stored in a silo (7) before being used as a ready
product according to Technical Specifications 5711-023-43508418-2008.

Clarified wastewater is biologically treated in an aerotank (3). Mixture of biomass and

wastewater is separated in a secondary clarifier (4). Wastewater is directed for tertiary
treatment before being discharged, while a part of biomass is reused in the aerotank. The rest
biomass is compacted in a sludge thickener (8). Compacted biomass is blended with
flocculants before being treated further in a belt thickener (9) and a belt filter-press (10) until
its MC is 70-72%. Sludge is stored in a silo (11) before being used as a ready commodity
according to Technical Specifications 9291-018-43508418-2004.

Therefore, no sludge generated at the mill is landfilled. The only case sludge is landfilled is
when sludge does not correspond to the requirements set on it. There was no information
provided about sludge utilizer. However, it can be concluded based on Appendix VI that
primary sludge can be used in insulating material, hard- and softboard production processes.
Use of sludge for cement clinker, pozzolan material, and ceramics production is unlikely. The
information presented was gathered in 2010.
 1 2 3 4
Wastewater
for tertiary
treatment
Wastewater

Sand

6 9
8

10

7
11

Primary
sludge
Biosolids

1. Sand separator; 5. Sludge thickener; 9. Belt thickener; Wastewater

2. Primary clarifier; 6. Separator; 10. Belt filter-press;
3. Aerotank; 7. Primary sludge silo; 11. Storage silo. Primary sludge
4. Secondary clarifier; 8. Sludge thickener;
Secondary/excess sludge
Recycled activated sludge

Figure 32. Sludge generation processes at “Syassky pulp and paper mill”.
 90

7.5 Preliminary conclusions of pulp and paper companies

WWTS generated at both “International paper” and “Syassky” mills is not landfilled, but used
for energy or material recovery. WWTS and DS generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”
and “Knauf” mills is landfilled. Sludge generated at the factories has high moisture content
and, as a result, low heating values, what limits possibilities of sludge energy recovery
without use of additional fuel. Furthermore, DS generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia”
mill has ash content of 42.9%. In other words, about a half of sludge will become ash after
incineration. Ash, consequently, requires further utilization. However, use of deinking sludge
generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” in construction materials production, like
cement or bricks, is advised.
 91

8 ENERGY AND MATERIAL RECOVERY POSSIBILITIES IN THE

LENINRGAD REGION

Energy recovery sub-chapter will be based on the thermotechnical properties of sludge

generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” (Table 13 and Table 14) and “Knauf” factories
(Table 15). Amount of sludge generated and used in the calculations is 150 t/day for the
former factory, and 145 t/day for the latter one. These amounts are average amounts of sludge
generated at the companies. Lecture material used in the course “Energy recovery from solid
waste” (Horttanainen, 2012) will be used as a basis for the calculations.

Material recovery sub-chapter will introduce the study of DS, generated at “SCA Hygiene
Products Russia” paper mill, utilization possibilities in existing companies of the Leningrad
Region only. The rest sludge types either are not appropriate for material recovery, like
WWTS from biological treatment plant at “Knauf” factory, or their quantity is negligible, like
primary sludge from the same company.

8.1 Energy recovery

Grate boiler and fluidized bed boiler techniques will be analyzed within the study as potential
energy recovery options. Following calculations will be related to incineration of deinking
sludge generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” mill in fluidized bed boiler. Calculations
for grate boiler and sludge generated at “Knauf” factory are the same with appropriate
changes in some parameters as will be noticed further. Firstly, annual amount of energy
enclosed in sludge generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” is calculated:

; (3)

where LHVar – lower heating value of sludge in arrival conditions, MJ/ kg;
qs – annual amount of sludge generated, kg.

LHVar for sludge from “Knauf” is 1.17 MJ/kg and qs is 145 000 t/day.

Thus, energy potential of sludge equals to 100 TJ/a (=27.7 GWh/a).

 92

Annual electricity production (gross, no transfer losses are included):

; (4)
where ηEEP – assumed efficiency of electricity production at WtE plant (Eurelectric, 2003)
(ηEEP for GB is assumed to be 25%);
Es – annual energy potential of sludge, GWh/a.

District heat production (gross, no transfer losses are included):

; (5)

where PtH – assumed power-to-heat ratio (Energy-AN Consulting, 2010);

(PtH for GB is assumed to be 0.42).

Total boiler energy output:

(6)

Boiler efficiency:
(7)

Electricity output:

; (8)

where tAPL – incineration plant availability (annual peak load), h/a;

(tAPL for GB is assumed to be 8000 h/a).

District heat output:

(9)

Total energy output:

(10)

The results of the calculations are combined in the Table 17.

 93

Table 17. Characteristics of GF and FBB for incineration of both DS generated at “SCA Hygiene Products
Russia” and WWTS generated at “Knauf”.

“SCA Hygiene
Parameter
“Knauf” Total
Eq. Products Russia”
Unit
No
GF FBB GF FBB GF FBB

Es 3 GWh/a 27.7 17.2 44.9

EEL 4 GWh/a 6.9 6.9 4.3 4.3 11.2 11.2
EDH 5 GWh/a 16.5 15.4 10.2 9.6 26.7 24.9
ENET 6 GWh/a 23.4 22.3 14.5 13.9 37.9 36.2
ηTOT 7 85% 81% 85% 81% 85% 81%
ηEEP 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%
PtH 0.42 0.45 0.42 0.45 0.42 0.45
ФEL 8 MW 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.6 1.4 1.4
ФDH 9 MW 2.1 2.0 1.3 1.2 3.3 3.3
ФTOT 10 MW 2.9 2.9 1.8 1.8 4.7 4.6

The calculations show that FBB has higher total output compared to GF boiler. Mainly due to
higher efficiency of electricity production.

During sludge heating value determination, it was found that moist sludge cannot be
combusted alone without additional fuel. Therefore, sludge must be either dried before single
combustion, or co-combusted with other waste from PPI. Since the framework of the study
does not assess possibilities for new installations construction, only co-combustion could be
analyzed.

As for co-combustion, both mills do not have their own boiler where co-combustion could be
implemented. Along with the problem caused by high moisture content, other problems, such
as high amount of ash left after incineration and flue gas treatment still must be solved.

DS has 40% ash content. It means that almost a half of sludge will be left after the
combustion process. Moreover, since the major reason for combustion is to decrease amount
of sludge landfilled, incineration is not the best way to utilize such type of sludge. Another
drawback of combustion is that flue gas treatment equipment installed in already existing
combustion plant should be replaced with more efficient one, because the amount of flue
gases to be treated will increase 5 times if compare bark and deinking sludge incineration (see
 94

Appendix VII). In addition, the potential of grate and tube-fouling of boilers will rise with
sludge addition (CANMET. Energy technology centre, 2005, p. 82).

Summing up what has been said, energy recovery of WWTS from “Knauf” factory is the only
way to treat sludge, if not landfilled, since application of WWTS in construction material
production is not possible. Incineration of DS in arrival conditions sounds problematic, so use
of sludge in construction materials production should be assessed.

8.2 Material recovery

DS generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” can be used as raw material for cement
clinker, ceramic and pozzolanic materials production. The last option is difficult to examine
since the product is usually produced at cement mills. Moreover, pozzolanic material is used
as an additive so amount of pozzolanic used totally is expected to be low.

8.2.1 Cement production

Cement production industry is developing fast in Northwestern Federal District of Russia

where the LR is located. Manufacturing of different cement types increased by 64% from 2.3
million tonnes in 2009 to 3.6 million tonnes in 2011 (FSSS, 2013e). Furthermore, about 80%
of all cement produced in Northwestern Federal District in 2009 was produced in the LR
(Rosbalt, 2010). All over the Leningrad Region, cement is produced in following three mills
mainly: “LSR-Cement”, “Slantsy cement plant Cesla”, and “Pikalyovsky cement plant”. Joint
production capacity of the mills is 5.6 million tonnes of cement annualy.

Dry method

“LSR-Cement”

Installed capacity of the mill is 1.86 million tonnes with possibility to install a new more
production line. Most of raw materials come to the mill from the area not further than 30 km.
(LSR-Cement, 2013) The mill is located in about 350 km from DS generating mill (Appendix
VI), thus, making sludge transportation process significant. In addition, problems can arise
when DS sludge is added, because dry method is used for cement production at the mill
 95

(Danilova, 2013). Basically, high moisture content of DS is the reason for potential
technological problems.

To produce 1000 kg of cement by dry method, 1214kg of raw materials is needed (European
Commission, 2010, p. 44). Thus, for the production of 1.860.000 tonnes of cement at “LSP-
Cement” plant, 2.258.040 tonnes of raw materials is required. It means that 64 tonnes of DS
ash daily generated at paper mill producing tissue paper accounts for only 1% of total raw
material consumed by “LSP-Cement”.

“Slantsy cement plant Cesla”

The mill is located in the same city as “LSR-Cement” mill is. Installed capacity of the mill is
1.4 million tonnes, where real one is 0.8 million tonnes (Internet portal "Cement", 2013a).
The mill has dry method production process. It can be expected that the same sludge type can
cause similar problems in the production process.

According to the Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in Cement, Lime and
Magnesium Oxide manufacturing industries (European Commission, 2010), rotary kilns can
be equipped with a preheater. Thus, use of preheater would considerably decrease amount of
water in sludge. It is illustrated in Figure 22 how preliminary drying of sludge can be
implemented at a cement plant.

For manufacturing of 800.000 tonnes of cement at “Slantsy cement plant Cesla” plant
971.200 tonnes of raw materials is consumed. Thus, 64 tonnes of DS ash for “SCA Hygiene
Products Russia” accounts for only 2.4% of total raw material consumed by “Slantsy cement
plant Cesla”. According to Ernstbrunner & Fischau (1993), share of DS fed to the process can
vary from 2-10%.

Wet method

“Pikalyovsky cement plant”

The production process is based on the wet process. DS with high MC can be theoretically
supplied to the process without causing technological problems. Real annual production
capacity of the plant is 2.7 million tonnes of cement (Internet portal "Cement", 2013b).
 96

Amount of raw material used in the wet process does not change compared to the dry one
(European Commission, 2010, pp. 44-46). Thus, it can be estimated that amount of DS
generated at paper mill producing tissue paper accounts for 1.7% of raw material consumed in
the mill. However, the mill is located in 442 km distance from the sludge generating mill (see
Appendix VI) what makes sludge utilization at Pikalyovsky cement plant not feasible because
of high transportation costs.

8.2.2 Ceramic bricks

Production of ceramic bricks is presented in the LR mainly by “Pobeda LSR” brick

corporation. The corporation is presented by three factories located in the LR. Location of two
of them is depicted in Appendix VI and the distance from them to “SCA Hygiene Products
Russia” is 220 km and 230 km. Joint production capacity of all factories is 290 000 000
standard bricks equivalent annually (Vespo Group, 2013). A weight of one standard brick
equivalent is about 1.8 kg (Midland Brickipedia, 2008). Thus, total weigh of produced bricks
is 522 000 tonnes. To produce bricks, clay and loam are used mainly, so that, to manufacture
1000 kg of bricks 1200 kg of clay and loam is required. Consequently, for the production of
522 000 tonnes of bricks 626 400 tonnes of raw materials is needed. It means that amount of
DS ash generated annually equals to 3.7% of total raw material consumed by three factories.
In other words, amount of DS ash is relatively small compared to ordinary ram meal
consumption.
 97

9 TRANSPORTATION OF SLUDGE

Transportation of sludge to the potential sludge utilizer is considered to be one of the biggest
concerns in sludge management in the Leningrad Region. Previous attempt to send sludge to
the construction material production process has ruined, particularly, because of high
transportation fee. Within the current study, research on possibilities to decrease the
transportation fee was carried out, as well as on possibility for new transportation way by
railroad.

Sludge generated at “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” was an example in calculations, since
only that sludge type is mostly suitable for utilization in construction material production. As
of now, sludge generating company pays approximately 20 €/t for sludge transportation to
landfill and actual disposal. The maximum amount of money the company is ready to spend
for sludge transportation and disposal is 45 €/t.

Sludge transportation in trucks can be done by any waste transportation company, eg.
“Ecotrans”. Contacts with “Ecotrans” during spring 2013 resulted in following data: sludge
transportation fee could be decreased to 0.053 €/(t∙km). Taking that data as the basis for
calculations, it could be stated that the maximum distance for sludge transportation without
surpassing the current utilization fee (20 €/t) is 377 km (one way for sludge transportation
only) without possibility to pay gate fee to the potential sludge utilizer. If amount of money
for sludge utilization is 45 €/t then the distance increases to 849 km without possibility to pay
gate fee to potential sludge utilizer.

Estimation of railroad transportation was implemented through personal communications with

the representatives of the JSC “Russian Railways”. Transportation of sludge has never been
implemented in the Russian Federation by railroad and, thus, there is, firstly, the need of
special carriage requirements development. Once the requirements have been approved,
transportation becomes possible. The prices were estimated based on waste wood (basically
sawdust, ships, bark) transportation. If sludge is transported in wagons that are owned by
either sludge producer or sludge utilizer, then prices for sludge transportation are following
 98

depending on the wagon type: open-box wagon – 0.062 €/(t∙km), chip wagon – 0.045
€/(t∙km).

Transportation will happen during several days (in average 5 days, but can vary greatly) and,
thus, buffer zone is required to make sludge supply to any production process reliable. It
worth mentioning that the price included only services related to transportation process itself,
and does not cover sludge loading/uploading, wagons rent prices, development of the carriage
requirements for new transportation commodity. Especially because of the absence of the
requirements on transportation, comparison with sludge transportation in trucks becomes
impossible.

Economic evaluation of sludge transportation in trucks and possible profit of “SCA Hygiene
Products Russia” obtained if sludge is not landfilled but utilized in other industry are shown
in Table 18.

Table 18. Economic evaluation of sludge management based on transportation costs over one year timeframe.

Distance, Transportation Profit, Money

Destination point
km fee, M€ M€ Limit*, M€
“LSR-Cement” 350 1.02 0.07 1.09
“Slantsy Cement Plant Cesla” 350 1.02 0.07 1.09
“Pobeda Brick Mill” 220 0.64 0.45 1.09
“Nikolsky Brick Mill” 230 0.67 0.42 1.09
- 377 1.09 0 1.09
“Pikalevsky Cement Plant” 440 1.23 -0.19 1.09
*
- money limit means amount of money currently spent on sludge transportation and disposal.

As can be concluded from the table, the most profitable sludge utilization way taking into
account only transportation is to supply sludge for bricks production mills located in Kolpino
and Nikolskoe. By doing that, “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” will save as much as 0.45
M€/a. Sludge transportation to “Pikalevsky Cement Plant” is viable since sludge generating
company is ready to spend as much as 45 €/t, but requires additional payment of 0.19 M€/a.
 99

10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Literature review has shown that the amount of sludge generated from wastewater treatment
at pulp and paper mills essentially depends on the raw materials being consumed and the
commodity being manufactured. Two paper mills located in the Leningrad Region, namely,
“SCA Hygiene Products Russia” and “Knauf”, landfill their sludge. The amount of sludge
landfilled daily is 150 tonnes of deinking sludge and 145 tonnes of secondary one
respectively.

At PPI plants located in the LR, following equipment is used for WWTS and DS treatment:
gravity tables, flotation units, clarifiers, belt thickeners, belt filter-presses, centrifuges,
membrane chamber filter-presses and screw presses. The equipment is the same as used in
European countries and advised by the reference document on BAT in pulp and paper
industry. In order to enhance sludge dewatering, it is recommended to install centrifuges and
membrane chamber-filter presses enabling final MC of sludge less than 30%.

Based on energy recovery experience of the European Union it is concluded that rotary kilns,
multiple hearth furnace and fluidized bed boilers are used for sludge incineration. Therewith,
FBB is the most perspective way of sludge incineration since allows full utilization of sludge
energy potential. If sludge generated at paper mills located in the Leningrad Region would be
incinerated, then total energy output was 4.6 MW. However, to produce the same amount of
energy, amount of flue gases will be 5 times more from sludge incineration than if bark would
be combusted alone.

Based on literature review and chemical analysis of DS it was proven that sludge most
successfully can be utilized in cement, ceramics, lightweight aggregate and fiberboard
production. Sludge can be potentially utilized in cement mills “LSR-Cement”, “Slantsy
Cement Plant Cesla” and brick mills “Nikolsky Brick Mill” and “Pobeda Brick Mill”.

To summarize, theoretical and practical experience shows availability of technologies for

sludge pretreatment and further Sludge-to-Energy recovery, as well as presence of factories
suitable for material recovery in the Leningrad Region from environmental and economic
aspects of sustainability to prevent sludge landfilling.
 100

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 112

APPENDIX I. Clarifier.

Source: Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse, by Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. George Tchobanoglous
Franklin Burton H. David Stensel, 2003.

Sludge thickening is implemented due to vertical stilts, which removes air containing in
sludge while rotating slowly. Sludge suspended at the bottom of the clarifier is transported
with the aid of blades also called scrapers to the centre of the clarifier from where thickened
sludge is removed.
 113

APPENDIX II. Flotation unit.

1 – sludge inlet; 2 – low-pressure chamber; 3 – pressure lowering system; 4 – sludge

outlet; 5 – pipe; 6 – surface scrapers; 7 – vessel; 8 – treated water outlet;
9 – pressurizing pumps; 10 –saturation vessel; 11 – compressed air; 12 – bottom residues.

Source: Degremont, 2007. Liquid sludge treatment. In: G. Bakasova, M. Volgina, L. Reshetnikova
& K. Uspenskaya, eds. Technical handbook on water treatment. Saint-Petersburg: New journal
Sludge generated during wastewater treatment is sent to a saturation vessel, where
compressed air is fed as well. In the saturation vessel air dissolution takes place and at then
saturated with air sludge is fed to a flotation unit´s low-pressure chamber system through
pressure lowering system. Due to sharp decrease in pressure air bubbles start generating from
saturated sludge. Bubbles, while moving upwards generate flotoflakes with sludge particles.
Flotoflakes are collected from the surface by the surface scrapers and sent for the further
treatment.
 114

APPENDIX III. Gravity table.

1 – sludge inlet; 2 – grate; 3 – chain belt; 4 – scrapers; 5 – filtrate; 6 – thickened sludge

output.

Source: Degremont, 2007. Liquid sludge treatment. In: G. Bakasova, M. Volgina, L. Reshetnikova
& K. Uspenskaya, eds. Technical handbook on water treatment. Saint-Petersburg: New journal
Sludge, preliminary mixed with flocculants, is fed onto the grate, equipped with rods installed
over a certain distance from each other so that there are intervals between them. Free water
contained in sludge starts draining through the interval made in the grate. While moving
towards the discharge end of the system with the help of scrapers, sludge is thickened. Thus,
amount of free water in sludge is reduced when sludge is discharged.
 115

APPENDIX IV. Belt thickener.

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Global Environment Centre Foundation.

http://www.gec.jp/water/data/water_29-4.html.

Sludge is fed onto the surface of the belt. Since the belt has meshes distributed over the length
of the belt, free water contained in sludge drains through the belt. To increase efficiency of
the process, a chicane is installed. The chicane is used for sludge overturn what makes water
separation more efficient and, consequently, sludge dryer. At the last stage of the process
sludge is slightly pressurized by a press strip. Once sludge passed through the machine, it is
discharged for further treatment as concentrated sludge.
 116

APPENDIX V. Comparison of material recovery possibilities.

Properties of sludge Composition of sludge

Produced Required Unwanted Maximum MC allowed,
used in reference used in reference
material elements elements %
material material
Ash left composition:
Cement Ca(CO)3; Alkaline DSC: 48.2 - 65.7%; CaO – 29%;
50% in wet production
clinker SiO2; metals. AC: 43.5 - 66.0%; MgO – 2.5%;
method. (3
Al2O3; Heating value: SO3 – 0.5%;
5-25% in dry production
Iron. (1 5.5 - 8.6 MJ/kg SiO2 – 35%;
method.
(on dry basis). (2 Al2O3 – 32%;
Fe2O3 – 1%. (2
CaO – 25.43%;
Pozzolanic Kaolin (4 Organic content – SiO2 – 10.79%;
material 32.34%; Al2O3 – 6.82%;
Calcite – 45.27%; MgO – 0.86%;
The lower, the better, but
Kaolinite – 13.67%. (5 Fe2O3 – 0.46%;
whatever in solid shape
SO3 – 0.33%;
is applicable.
TiO2 – 0.28%;
Na2O – 0.13%;
K2O4 – 0.24%;
P2O3 – 0.13%. (5
SiO2 – 26-30%;
Ceramic Alkaline MC: 68%; Al2O3 – 17-20%;
products metals. AC: 10%; CaO – 0.15-0.18%;
Could be 45-65%
Inorganic matter: 60%. (6 MgO – 0.2-0.6%;
Fe2O3 – 0.1-0.3%;
TiO2 – 0.05-0.1%. (7

continued on next page

 117

Appendix V continued

Alkaline
(8
Recovery Ca(CO)3 metals,
in limekiln especially No experimental results found Not more than 55% (9
silicates and
Na. (9
High
Insulating Long fiber(10 inorganic
Not stated in the reference material 25% - 60% (10
material matter
content
High
Softboard Long fiber inorganic
Not stated in the reference material
matter
content
Fiber: 66 w-%;
Hardboard Long fiber High Inorganic matter: 5.2 w-
inorganic %; Sludge moisture should
Not stated in the reference
matter Secondary sludge: 27 w- be around 40-55%
material
content %;
pH – 6.8.
Fiber as
Cement filling
mortar material for
Sludge is mixed with
pores
other materials, so MC
generation. Not stated in the reference material
defines amount of water
Inorganic
required for the process
matter for
strength
properties
continued on next page
 118

Appendix V continued
Mostly fiber
Light- as filling MC: 75.5%; SiO2 – 37.99% Sludge is mixed with
weight material for LOI: 70.11%; Al2O3 – 51.72%; other materials, so MC
aggregate pores AC: 30%. (11 Fe2O3 – 3.04%; defines amount of water
generation. CaO – 5.09%; required for the process
Some MgO – 3.10%. (11
inorganic
matter for
strength
properties (11
(1 – taken from (European Commission, 2010);
(2 – taken from (Ernstbrunner & Fischau, 1993);
(3 – taken from (LenTehStroy, 2013a);
(4 – taken from (Hundebol, 1997);
(5 – taken from (Frias, et al., 2011);
(6 – taken from (Radovenchik, et al., 2010);
(7 – taken from (Treschev , et al., 2007);
(8 – taken from (Milovidova, et al., 2010);
(9 – taken from (Nepenin, 1990);
(10 – taken from (Cavaleri & Contu, 2011);
(11 – taken from (Liaw, et al., 1998).
 119

APPENDIX VI. Map of the Leningrad Region.

 120

APPENDIX VII. Calculation of flue gases.

Appendix VII. Table 1. Initial data for calculations.

Content of
Deinking sludge* Bark (Abubakr, et al., 1995)**
elements,
weight-%
C 12.8 32.9
H 2.6 4.1
O 13.9 28.8
N 0.6 0.2
S 0 0.1
MC 47.7 31.5
AC 22.4 2.4
Total 100% 100%
LHVar,
1.82 9.13
MJ/kg

* - content of elements in deinking sludge, except MC and AC, has not been
determined, but assumed as average based on the data presented in Table 1.
** - content of elements for bark is initially given on dry basis, but was
transformed on as received basis.

The calculations of amounts of flue gases generated as a result of bark or DS incineration is

based on the data presented in Appendix VII. Table 1. The results of calculations are shown in
Appendix VII. Table 2 and Appendix VII. Table 3 for deinking sludge and bark respectively.

To generate the same amount of energy from deinking sludge and bark with heating values of
1.82 and 9.13 MJ/kg respectively, approximately 5 times more deinking sludge need to be
burned. Thus, amount of flue gases generated from deinking sludge and bark combustion to
generated equal amount of energy is 11.7 m3 and 4.1 m3 respectively.
 121

Appendix VII. Table 2. Amount of flue gases generated from incineration of 1kg of deinking sludge.

Deinking sludge Flue gas component

O2-
N,
Component m, g M, g/mol demand, CO2 SO2 H2O N2 O2
mol
mol
C 128 12 10,67 10,67 10,67
H2 26 2 12,80 6,40 12,80
O2 139 32 4,35 -4,35
N2 6 28 0,21 0,21
S 0 32 0,00 0,00 0,00
MC 477 18 26,50 26,50
AC 224
Sum 1000 12,71 10,67 0,00 39,30 0,21

Combustion air (stoichiometric)

N2 from comb air (N2=79/21*No2) 47,83
H2O from comb air (Nh2o=R*(No2+Nn2)) 0,60
Excess air
O2 1,27
N2 4,78
H2O 0,06
Sum 10,67 0,00 39,96 52,82 1,27

Flue gas Vm, V wet,

N, mol % (vol.) V dry, m3 % (vol.)
component m3/kmol m3
CO2 10,67 22,26 0,24 10,1 0,24 16,4
O2 1,27 22,39 0,03 1,2 0,03 2,0
N2 52,82 22,4 1,18 50,5 1,18 81,7
SO2 0,00 21,98 0,00 0,0 0,00 0,0
H2O 39,96 22,4 0,90 38,2
Sum 2,34 100 % 1,45 100 %
 122

Appendix VII. Table 3. Amount of flue gases generated from incineration of 1kg of bark.

Bark Flue gas component

O2-
Component m, g M, g/mol N, mol demand, CO2 SO2 H2O N2 O2
mol
C 329 12 27,42 27,42 27,42
H2 41 2 20,50 10,25 20,50
O2 288 32 9,00 -9,00
N2 2 28 0,07 0,07
S 1 32 0,03 0,03 0,03
H2O 315 18 17,50 17,50
ash 24
sum 1000 28,70 27,42 0,03 38,00 0,07

Combustion air (stoichiometric)

N2 from comb air (N2=79/21*No2) 107,96
H2O from comb air (Nh2o=R*(No2+Nn2)) 1,35
Excess air
O2 1,43
N2 5,40
H2O 0,07
Sum 27,42 0,03 39,42 113,43 1,43

Flue gas Vm, V wet,

N, mol % (vol.) V dry, m3 % (vol.)
component m3/mol m3
CO2 27,42 22,26 0,6103 26,0 0,6103 42,1
O2 1,43 22,39 0,0321 1,4 0,0321 2,2
N2 113,43 22,4 2,5408 108,4 2,5408 175,3
SO2 0,03 21,98 0,0007 0,0 0,0007 0,0
H2O 39,42 22,4 0,8830 37,7
Sum 4,0669 100 % 3,1839 100 %