STUDIES ON THE USE OF BRACHYSTEGEN EURYCOMA (ACHI SEED) AS A CONDITIONER IN THE TREATMENT OF SEWAGE SLUDGE

Abstract

The finely ground seeds of Brachystegen Eurycoma (Achi Seed) was used in the treatment of sewage sludge. It has been found to improve sludge filterability and compare favourably with the traditional ferric chloride conditioner. The optimum dosage for each sample can be determined by drawing a tangent to the corresponding curve of each sample at the point where there is a sharp break between the straight and curvilinear potion. In this work, the optimum value for Brachystegen Eurycoma is 21.5% (0.4g/cm3) and for ferric chloride is 25% (0.5g/cm3). The foregoing results show that ferric chloride is still a better conditioner. However, during sludge filtration, cake and filtrate concentration increased with increasing dosages of the Brachystegen Eurycoma sample. This indicates that it would be useful as a conditioner if the primary product of filtration is the procurement of low filtrate concentration or high quality cake.


Key words: Brachystegen Eurycoma, Coagulation, Sewage Sludge, Filtration and Sludge Dewaterability number (SDN)


[Global Jnl Engineering Res. Vol.1(1) 2002: 17-22]