Insight into the comparison of thermally and Fe(II) activated persulfate on sludge dewaterability and disintegration

Abstract The effects of thermally and Fe(II) activated potassium persulfate (PPS) on sludge dewatering performance were compared systematically. Sludge dewaterability was monitored by measuring capillary suction time (CST) and sludge specific resistance to filtration (SRF), and the degradation effect was characterized by chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The change of extracellular polymer substance (EPS) including soluble, loosely bound and tightly bound EPS (S-EPS, LB-EPS and TB-EPS) with time and PPS dosage was monitored to discuss the oxidation efficiency of thermally and Fe(II) activated PPS. Sludge supernatant was analyzed by three-dimensional fluorescence excitation–emission spectra (3D-EEM) to confirm the protein transformation. The result showed that sludge dewaterability in terms of CST and SRF were enhanced with increasing PPS dosage and condition time of two activated methods. While Fe(II) activated PPS could reduce sludge CST and SRF to preferred values at low PPS dosage and short condition time. Meanwhile, sludge degradation effect was also more obvious. Mechanically, sludge TB-EPS in proteins and polysaccharides converted to SB-EPS was faster with Fe(II) activated PPS. In addition, thermally activated PPS tended to oxidize the protein in the supernatant first.