Sludge Calorific Value Mapping and Potential Energy Recovery for Malaysia

Nowadays, the sewage sludge disposal is considered a serious issue in Malaysia for not only the largest contributor of waste material in Malaysia but also causes many environmental crises. Due to its abundance, sewage sludge is seen to have a potential to be a good resource of energy and thus reduce the environmental effect it has. In order to study the potential of energy recovery through sewage sludge, a detailed study on its characterization and calorific value of secondary sludge have been carried out. This paper discusses on the experimental work done on the sewage sludge sample to obtain Proximate Analysis, Ultimate Analysis and Higher Heating Value of the sludge samples. The sludge samples were dried in a heating oven to reduce the moisture content. These dried samples are then milled and sieved in order to obtain sample particle size of less than 250μm. A thermogravimetric analyser is used to study the characterization of sewage sludge and measuring the parameters in terms of weight percentage (wt%) such as the Moisture Content(MC), Volatile Matter(VM), Fixed Carbon (FC) and Ash Content (AC). Next the elemental composition is studied by running an Ultimate Analysis using the CHNS by distinguishing the weight percentage of Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Sulphur. Lastly, the bomb Calorimeter was used to estimate the Higher Heating Value (HHV) of the samples. Once the characterization study has been done, Malaysian sewage sludge is compared to sewage sludge which has energy recovery potential or is already being used for energy recovery. Study reveals that sewage sludge in Malaysia has potential energy recovery since its characterization and heating value is in the range of with the reviewed sewage sludge. Lastly, based on the current Sludge Production Factor, energy generated through Malaysian Sewage sludge was estimated and yield a value of 7000 kWh/day.