Under applicable law (The Act on Fertilizers and Fertilization 2007) sewage sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants is treated as waste. The article presents 5 variants of alteration and management of sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in Szamotuły. Some of them include the use of green mass that can be obtained as a result of urban greenery maintenance works. For the purpose of this article there was carried out a quantitative balance of sludge, taking into account different degrees of its hydration. There were also discussed the results of an experiment conducted on the semi-technical scale. The drying process took place under a plastic tunnel with a length of 10 m. Two series of sludge drying at different outdoor temperatures were carried out. The sludge drying time in conditions of high ambient temperatures (24-36˚C) was 18 days. There was also determined the dependance between hydration and drying time at lower temperatures. In the final analysis, there were employed two basic methods of sludge treatment: solar drying and composting. The introduction of new solutions removes numerous existing sludge disposal costs. The benefits will consist in the elimination of sludge disposal costs or sludge hygienisation costs. ...
Renewable energy sources have been amongst crucial elements of the European Union policy for a long time. Currently, they have become significant in terms of possibilities of the technology development, whichmay limit the effects and duration of the economic, energy and climatic crisis. The Directive 2009/28/EC obliges the increase of the share of Renewable Energy Sources in the final energy consumption up to 20% (inPoland up to 15%) by 2020. Sewage sludge is waste that significantly affects the aspects of environment. The research considered the rationality of using the waste for the production of biomethane. The purpose of the work was to determine the dynamics of biogas production from sewage sludge of municipal origin. Its scope included a review of the literature based on the Polish and European law. Issues of technology, production and use of biogas and residue were presented. The research was based on determining the properties of sewage sludge - raw and after stabilization, and carrying out a fermentation process for a period of 30 days. The validity of using sewage sludge as substrate for biogas production was confirmed. ...
