Advanced Sludge Treatment for Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants for

Metro and Urban cities in India: Sustainable Solution

Sanjay L Lalan, TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd., Mumbai,

Yatish*, TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd., Bangalore,
Sivaganesh K, TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd., Bangalore
*Corresponding Author, Tel: 91 80 66384312, M: +9986553218, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Sludge management from municipal Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) is major challenge in
India, especially in Metro and Urban cities. The conventional way of sludge treatment is to
reduce weight and volume by thickening and dewatering sludge to 20% dry solids and make
sludge cake and dispose in landfill site or use as manure. Metro and Urban cities are facing
problems in handling sludge from large capacity STPs due to land constraints. Sludge
disposal is the major constraints for the large capacity STP in terms of quantity, cost,
environmental challenges and disposal. In India, generally, sludge generated from large STPs
is used to generate biogas based captive power from anaerobic sludge digestion and reduction
in sludge quantity of digested sludge. Now a day, the sludge treatment and management is the
significant task in the STPs of Metro and Urban cities.

A feasibility study was carried out for two STP projects (150 and 240 MLD) in two mega
cities in India for exploring viability of advanced sludge treatment to tackle large sludge
volume for disposal. Advanced sludge treatment technology is Thermal Hydrolysis Process
(THP), a two-stage process of high-pressure boiling of sludge followed by rapid
decompression.

From above two projects, it is estimated that dewatered sludge quantity reduction will be
46%&50%, also 64%&59% reduction in digesters footprint, 32%&33% increase in biogas
generation respectively and meeting USEPA Class A bio-solids by adopting THP process as
pretreatment. Steam generated during THP processes can be used to pre-heat the incoming
feed sludge, thereby minimizing the need for fresh steam and optimizing energy balance.
THP technology is viable sustainable solution for large STPs for effective sludge
management. This technology is environmental friendly and proven in developed countries

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and will overcome the difficulties in dealing with large quantity of sludge to handle
environmentally safe manner in India.

Keywords: Sludge, Anaerobic Digestion, Thermal Hydrolysis, Biogas, Bio-solids.

INTRODUCTION
For domestic sewage the excess sludge to be wasted will be about 0.35 – 0.5 kg/kg BOD
removed for the conventional system. The waste sludge is either discharged into the primary
settling tank or thickened in a sludge thickening unit and digested directly. Generally, the
sludge is dewatered to 20% dry solids and the sludge cake is either disposed to land fill site or
given to farmers.

Now a day, urban local bodies especially in urban cities municipalities facing big challenges
for sludge management and it disposal.

Under two Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) projects of 150 MLD and 240 MLD capacities,
M/s. Tata Consulting Engineers provided consultancy services for preparation of feasibility
reports and detailed project reports. Along with the sewage treatment process, the capacities
were increased with available limited footprint, that is within the given plant area confines.
TCE had the task of also evaluating the most suitable and techno-economical viable
technology for liquid waste treatment and solids stream treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The 150 MLD STP project is located in one of mega city in India, within existing treatment
facility and objective was to treat the sewage from new plant to meet Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) treated sewage discharge norms. The 240 MLD STP project located
in one of mega city where existing treatment facility is proposed to be replaced with new
treatment facility within existing footprints with enhanced capacity and to meet CPCB
discharge norms for treated sewage. At present, there is no disposal/reuse norm in CPCB for
STP sludge / bio-solids in India.

Various treatment options were studied and analysed with life cycle cost in feasibility stage.
In addition to this, sludge treatment options were also studied for handling large quantity of

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sludge for disposal. Under study, feasibility of providing advanced sludge treatment facility
was carried out.

In both plants, Conventional Activated Sludge Process with A2O process was recommended
on life cycle cost analysis. A2O process is proposed for biological BOD, nitrogen and
phosphorous removal. The separated biological sludge was used to generate biogas fuel and
in turn green energy. Using the anaerobic digestion process, the sludge from the STP is
designed to generate energy from the biogas.

The advanced sludge technology was aim to reduce footprint of sludge treatment facility,
enhance biogas generation and reduction in sludge quantity to handle. The sludge generated
from the plant is proposed to be treated with Advanced Sludge Treatment to achieve United
State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Class A bio-solids treatment and disposal
standards. The USEPA Class A bio-solids reduce the level of pathogens to below detectable
levels (i.e. Fecal coliform 1,000 MPN/gm of DS) compared to Fecal coliform 2,000,000
MPN/gm of DS of Class B bio solids standards. This is a hygienic and healthy option as there
is no risk of infectious diseases transmission through casual contact or indigestion, no site
restrictions are required for storage of Class A bio-solids and there is less odour from solids
which ensures hygienic transporting and disposing of Class B bio-solids, etc.

For achieving USEPA Class A bio-solids in the STP solids output, Thermal Hydrolysis
Process (THP) is recommended. It is pre-treatment technology before anaerobic digestion of
sludge and a two-stage process of high-pressure boiling of sludge followed by rapid
decompression. In this process, sludge is hydrolyses and disintegrates pre-dewatered sludge
and turns it into a sterilized liquid and an easily digested product with low viscosity, allowing
more than double digester loading rates compared to conventional digestion. THP technology
results in higher digester loading, reduces anaerobic sludge digesters volume and increases
biogas production compared to conventional sludge treatment, digested sludge is free from
pathogens.

It optimizes digestion and dewatering (30-33% dry solids compared to typically 20% DS),
reduces digester volume (about 30-50% typically), and increases gas production (about 20-
30% typically). Ultimately, it delivers a high quality (USEPA Class A) end product (bio-
solids). The end product is a pathogen free and pasteurized bio-solids with minimum odour

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which can be applied to land directly as bio fertiliser. The Class A bio-solids has commercial
value as it is used as a fertiliser and hence it generates revenue to the authority. Fig.1 presents
a typical process flow scheme for advanced sludge treatment with thermal hydrolysis process
(THP).

FIGURE 1: Process Scheme for Advanced Sludge Treatment with THP

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Based on the study as given in table -1, for conventional sludge treatment and advanced
sludge treatment, the volume of dewatered sludge is reduced by about 46% & 50% compared
to conventional sludge treatment. The volume of anaerobic digesters is reduced to about 64%
& 59% and the biogas generation is increased to 32% & 33% when compared to conventional
sludge treatment in two projects.

The process also ensures better quality of sludge product (Class A bio-solids) which is a
sustainable solution and is very environmental friendly.

TABLE 1: Comparison of Conventional and Advanced Sludge Treatment Facility for

150 MLD and 240 MLD STP Projects

Sl. No. Projects Conventional Advanced

Sludge Sludge
Treatment Treatment

1.0 150 MLD capacity STP

a) BOD, mg/l (Design) 350 350

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 Sl. No. Projects Conventional Advanced
Sludge Sludge
Treatment Treatment

b) TSS, mg/l (Design) 450 450

c) VSS, mg/l (Design) 380 380

d) Total dry solids in sludge (Primary &

69.8 69.8
Secondary) (tDS/day)

e) Anaerobic Digesters Volume (cum) 27,938 10,051

f) Biogas Generation (cum/day) 21,811 28,793

g) Sludge quantity for disposal (ton / year) 77,988 41,979

2.0 240 MLD capacity STP

a) BOD, mg/l (Design) 250 250

b) TSS, mg/l (Design) 400 400

c) VSS, mg/l (Design) 280 280

d) Total dry solids in sludge (Primary &

91.0 91.0
Secondary) (tDS/day)

e) Anaerobic Digesters Volume (cum) 32,912 13,346

f) Biogas Generation (cum/day) 27,631 36,962

g) Sludge quantity for disposal (ton / year) 85,951 49,184

The additional cost involved for providing advanced sludge treatment is about in the range of
INR 30 to 80 Lakhs/MLD depending upon the plant capacity, site condition and raw sewage
characteristics. The recovery/return period for capital investment for advanced sludge
treatment would be about 8 to 10 years. Due to increase in biogas generation, O&M cost for
running the plant is reduced to 50% in plant.

This would be the first time in India that advanced sludge technology is studied for Municipal
STPs. The estimated sludge generation from the 150 and 240 MLD THP plant is about
41,979 and 49,184 tonnes dry solids (DS) per year respectively.

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The THP technology is implemented in leading developed cities such as Washington DC,
USA with capacities of 130,000 tonnes DS/year, Manchester UK with 91,000 tonnes
DS/year, Oslo Norway with 50,000 tonnes DS/year, Verdal Norway with 40,000 tonnes
DS/year, Dublin, Ireland with 36,000 tonnes DS/year and London, UK with 40,000 tonnes
DS/year, among others.

The digested sludge (Class A bio-solids) from advanced sludge treatment can be disposed to
thermal processing, landfill site or farmers for agricultural usage (Refer Fig-2). It is
recommended that class A sludge is environmental friendly and can be used as fertilizer for
agricultural purpose with no risk.

Digested Cake

Thermal Processing Land Fill Agriculture

Drying Incineration No further Class A product, easy

stabilization required acceptance by farmers

FIGURE 2: Class-A Sludge Disposal Methods

CONCLUSIONS

The large capacity sewage treatment plant facility (above 100MLD capacity) can be proposed
with advanced sludge treatment which will reduce footprint, increase biogas generation,
reduction in anaerobic digester volume and reduction in sludge quantity for handling for
disposal. The dewatered sludge cake will be environmental friendly and will meet the
USEPA Class-A bio-solids standards and can be used as fertilizer for food crops.

It achieves United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Class A biosolids

standards which reduce the level of pathogens to below detectable levels (i.e. Fecal coliform
1,000 MPN/gm of DS) compared to Fecal coliform 2,000,000 MPN/gm of DS of Class B bio-
solids standards. This is a hygienic and healthy option as there is no risk of infectious

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diseases transmission through casual contact or indigestion, no site restrictions are required
for storage of Class A bio-solids and there is less odour from solids which ensures hygienic
transporting and reuse/disposing of Class A bio-solids. The EPA Class A bio-solids has
commercial value as it is used as a fertiliser and generates revenue to the municipal authority.

This project will set the benchmark for large capacities sewage treatment plant facilities as a
smart, value engineering solution to handle large volume of sludge from the sewage treatment
plants. Waste to energy, from liquids and solid wastes, are sustainable in the long run with
state-of-the-art solutions designed to provide long term sustainability.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the sincere efforts made by Mr. Purnachandra Rao, Discipline
Head -Water & Wastewater and Mr. G. N. Virupaksha, Group Sector Head, Water sector, for
their valuable suggestion for this paper. We are greatful to TCE for encouraging and
providing opportunity to present the paper. We would also like to thank Mr. Morten Hegge,
Regional Director, Cambi, Norway for providing technical information on THP technology
across the worldwide.

REFERENCES

a) Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (2013), Manual

on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Systems
b) Central Pollution Control Board (2016) norms for discharge of treated sewage in
India.
c) Metcalf and Eddy (2005), Wastewater Engineering Treatment and Reuse, Fourth
Edition.
d) Soli J Archeivala (2000), Wastewater Treatment for Pollution Control.
e) USEPA (2006), Emerging Technologies for Biosolids Management.

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