ABSTRACT
Ferric chloride and lime conditioning of sewage sludge is usually interpreted in terms of enhanced aggregation of sludge components. In this study, transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the conditioning mechanism at a submicronic scale. Samples were collected from two municipal wastewater treatment plants at different stages of the process, embedded in an epoxy resin, and sectioned with an ultramicrotome. Transmission electron microscopy examination of thin sections revealed that clumps of crystalloids develop on external surfaces of flocs after the application of both conditioners. This precipitate creates a rigid structure around the flocs which, upon mechanical dewatering, transmits the stresses applied to the inner parts of flocs. The porous structure of the precipitate may also participate to the withdrawal of water as a draining media. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that Fe, P, and Ca are the dominant elements in the precipitate with Fe/P and Fe/Ca elemental ratios close to 2.8-3 and 1.1-3, respectively.
Subject(s)
Calcium Compounds/chemistry , Ferric Compounds/chemistry , Oxides/chemistry , Sewage/chemistry , Water Purification , Calcium/analysis , Chemical Precipitation , Chlorides , Crystalloid Solutions , Electrolytes/chemistry , Epoxy Resins , Filtration , Flocculation , Iron/analysis , Isotonic Solutions , Microscopy, Electron , Microtomy , Phosphorus/analysis , Plasma Substitutes/metabolism , Porosity , Sewage/microbiologyABSTRACT
Fluvial suspended particulates collected from the Rhine River were investigated in terms of composition, structure and size distribution. Elemental analysis and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy reveal that most particulate organic matter is formed from material derived from microorganisms. Transmission Electron Microscopy observations on resin-embedded samples and structural characterization from break-up experiments, show that fluvial particulate matter should be viewed as fractal aggregates organized by bacterial exopolymeric substances. The shape of particulate size distribution suggests that the formation and dynamics of suspended particulate matter are controlled mainly by physical processes. Finally, particulate growth and structure are consistent with a cluster-cluster aggregation scheme.
