Nutrient Resources Recovery by a Creative Co-Composting Method of Municipal Solid Wastes and Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge

Abstract

The purpose of this study is nutrient resources recovery by achieving the optimal chemical oxygen demand (COD) and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) in co-composting wastewater treatment plant sludge with Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW). In this effort, the co-composting has been conducted in form of a case study in the northern region of Iran. In this research, 192 tests were carried out on four series of samples examined in terms of waste to sludge ratio, different aeration period, the percent of porous materials and the moisture content. This study was carried out at a temperature of 50 °C for a 15 day period by application of the in-vessel system and shows that the best ratio for waste to sludge is 2:1, while the 8 hour period is the best aeration period. The porous material which can be added to the composting process is limited to 15% in weight. In other words, any more or less amount of this material will adversely impact the process. Moreover, this research suggests that the sludge dewatering is not required in such processes. In Addition, the efficiency of both COD and C/N reductions equals to about 40%.