Today, with the accelerated urbanization process, municipal sludge treatment has become an important issue in the field of environmental governance. Sludge, as a by-product of sewage treatment, contains heavy metals, pathogens and organic pollutants. If not properly disposed of, it will seriously threaten soil, water sources and public health security. However, at present, the harmless disposal rate of sludge in our country is less than 60%, and the resource utilization rate is even lower than 30%. This situation highlights the urgency of technological upgrading. Among numerous solutions, the selection and application of pharmaceuticals have become the key to breaking through the bottleneck.
The limitations of traditional processing techniques
For a long time, municipal sludge treatment has mainly relied on technologies such as landfill, composting and incineration. Although landfill is simple to operate, it occupies a large amount of land resources and poses a risk of polluting groundwater. Although incineration can achieve reduction in volume, the problems of high energy consumption and waste gas emissions are prominent. Data shows that the annual sludge output in China has exceeded 60 million tons (with a moisture content of 80%), and traditional technologies are no longer able to meet the dual demands of environmental protection and resource utilization.
Pharmaceutical Selection: From "Empiricism" to "Precise Policy Implementation
The research and application of sludge treatment chemicals are undergoing a transformation from general-purpose to specialized types. Traditional flocculants such as polyaluminium chloride and polyacrylamide can improve the dewatering performance of sludge, but they have problems such as large dosage and fluctuating effects. The emergence of the new type of sludge enhancer has brought a revolutionary breakthrough to the industry.
The technical advantages of sludge enhancers
The sludge efficiency enhancer achieves a comprehensive improvement in sludge treatment efficiency through the synergistic effect of multiple components
Structural modification: Disrupt the colloid structure of sludge, reduce the specific surface area, and facilitate the release of water.
Viscosity control: Significantly reduce sludge viscosity and enhance the dewatering efficiency of equipment such as filter presses and centrifuges;
Solid content increase: Reduce the moisture content of the mud cake from over 80% to 40%-60%, achieving a reduction effect of 35%-55%.
Process simplification: No need to add auxiliary agents such as lime, avoiding equipment corrosion and filter cloth clogging.
Economic and environmental benefits in practical applications
Taking a certain sewage treatment plant as an example, after introducing the sludge efficiency enhancer, the treatment efficiency of the filter press increased by 300%, the dewatering cycle was shortened by 50%, and the moisture content of the sludge cake dropped from 82% to 58%. This not only reduces transportation costs by 40%, but also raises the calorific value of sludge to the standard for incineration power generation, achieving energy recovery. Calculations show that the cost of treating one ton of sludge has decreased by 25%, while the resource utilization income has increased by 30%.
Industry trend: Dual drive of resource utilization and low-carbonization
Under the "dual carbon" goals, sludge treatment is leaping from "reduction" to "resource utilization". The application of sludge enhancers provides support for the following technical paths:
Co-incineration: By reducing the moisture content and increasing the calorific value of sludge, it achieves co-disposal with waste incineration.
Utilization of building materials: The dehydrated sludge can replace part of the clay raw materials and be used in the production of building materials such as bricks and ceramsite.
Biomass energy conversion: Sludge with low moisture content is more suitable for anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, enhancing the efficiency of energy conversion.
Municipal sludge treatment has entered a critical period of technological iteration. The application of sludge enhancers not only breaks through the efficiency bottleneck of traditional technologies but also opens up a new path for resource utilization. With the increase in policy support and the decline in technical costs, this "green agent" is expected to become a standard feature in the industry, helping China's sludge treatment rate exceed 90% by 2030 and truly achieving the transformation from an "environmental burden" to an "urban mine".