Effect of air temperature and aeration strategy on water removal during sewage sludge composting

Water removal is one of the main objectives of sewage sludge composting to reduce the volume and mass of sewage sludge. In this study, the effect of aeration strategy and ambient temperature (summer and winter) on composting pile temperature, moisture content, and volatile solid (VS) change were studied during sewage sludge composting processes in a well-operated sludge composting plant. The results showed that the temperatures of the composting pile could remain above 55°C for more than 3 days under all conditions, which was sufficient to meet the requirement of harmless treatment. Moisture content of composting material decreased from 65%–69% to 39.2%–52.6% within 20 days, and VS decreased to about 77%. In the end of the composting process, cumulative water removal was 0.45–0.47 kg/kg in summer, which was significantly higher than that in winter (0.35–0.36 kg/kg). When the average aeration rate was fixed, aeration strategy with a smaller aeration rate and higher on/off time ratio showed more water removal than that with a higher aeration rate and lower on/off time ratio in summer, but showed reverse results in winter.