Management of sewage sludge – new possibilities involving partial cement replacement

TLDR: In this article, the authors proposed an approach, while eliminating the need to dispose ash at non-hazardous waste disposal sites, directly reduces not only the sludge and ash disposal costs, but also the raw cement production costs.

Abstract: An increasing trend of sludge generation at wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has been observed in developing countries like Croatia. Thermal processing of sewage sludge facilitates its further management, although ash is generated as new waste in the process. The proposed approach, while eliminating the need to dispose ash at non-hazardous waste disposal sites, directly reduces not only the sludge and ash disposal costs, but also the raw cement production costs. All analysed technical and environmental requirements are met when 20 % of cement is replaced with ash.