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  • Volume 2, Issue 2

Sludge removal from primary wastewater stabilization ponds with excessive accumulation: a sustainable method for developing regions

Stewart M. Oakley, Luciana Coêlho Mendonça, Sérgio Rolim Mendonça
Published June 2012, 2 (2) 68-78; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2012.093
Stewart M. Oakley
Department of Civil Engineering, California State University, Chico, California 95929-0930, USA E-mail: soakley@csuchico.edu
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Luciana Coêlho Mendonça
Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Mal. Rondon, S/N, Jardim Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil
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Sérgio Rolim Mendonça
Av. Maria Rosa, 1033, apto 901, Ed. Village Montallo, Manaíra, 58.038-460, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
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Abstract

Wastewater stabilization ponds have long been considered a sustainable treatment option for developing regions. Sludge buildup in primary ponds is also a sustainability issue since ponds must be desludged every 2–15 years depending on their design and solids loading. Pond systems in developing regions are often designed without a desludging plan and operated without the amortized desludging cost included in the operation and maintenance budget. This paper presents a method where sludge drying within a pond is effected by rooted plants; after drying, the sludge is removed with a mid-sized excavator. The method was tested in the desludging of a primary pond in Tela, Honduras, where sludge 4 m deep was dried to a solid (TS ≈ 18%) to a depth >1 m using the wetland plant Ludwigia octovalvis. The data suggest that both evapotranspiration and drainage through the root system contributed to dewatering. The total cost in 2011 US dollars was $13,716 or $4.47 m3 removed, which was paid from the municipality's general fund without external aid. The method presented is sustainable, and serves as a model for desludging operations where excessive sludge accumulation has occurred – a likely scenario in many primary ponds in developing regions.

  • desludging stabilization ponds
  • sludge drying
  • sludge removal
  • sustainable sludge management
  • wastewater stabilization ponds
  • Received October 12, 2011.
  • Accepted February 2, 2012.
  • © IWA Publishing 2012

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Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development: 8 (1)
  Volume 2, Issue 2

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Sludge removal from primary wastewater stabilization ponds with excessive accumulation: a sustainable method for developing regions
Stewart M. Oakley, Luciana Coêlho Mendonça, Sérgio Rolim Mendonça
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Jun 2012, 2 (2) 68-78; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2012.093
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Sludge removal from primary wastewater stabilization ponds with excessive accumulation: a sustainable method for developing regions
Stewart M. Oakley, Luciana Coêlho Mendonça, Sérgio Rolim Mendonça
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Jun 2012, 2 (2) 68-78; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2012.093

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Keywords

desludging stabilization ponds
sludge drying
sludge removal
sustainable sludge management
wastewater stabilization ponds
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