Rui Zhang, M.S. Environmental Engineering (rui.zhang@rose-hulman.edu)

and

Major Professor: Dr. Sharon. A. Jones (Sharon.Jones@Rose-Hulman.edu)

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

5500 Wabash Avenue
Terre Haute, Indiana  47803

Abstract

Industrial and municipal sludge are often considered the unglamorous problem areas of environmental control. Increasingly stringent environmental regulations and industrial growth have markedly increased the volume of sludge generated and the complexity of disposal requirements. It is clear that only the most effective design and operation of sludge treatment facilities using the latest available technologies will be adequate to meet the nation’s environmental quality objectives. It is essential that optimum application of such technology be incorporated into contemporary design of sludge treatment facilities to maximize benefits from environmental control expenditures.

For this purpose, the City of Niagara Falls’ WWTP is undergoing a project to optimize the sludge dewatering system by adding a secondary dewatering system to the current dewatering system. A pilot test already determined that adding a secondary dewatering system to the current three belt filter presses, can increase the solid content from 34% to 50%. The increase in percent solids results in a corresponding decrease in unnecessary off-site shipping of liquid. However, adding pressure filtration will result in capital costs for the WWTP. The plant is eager to know for which scenarios it will be feasible and optimal to use this additional dewatering system.

An optimization of economic model was developed to find the solution that produces the least annual cost for the new dewatering system. This model was developed using Mathematical Programming Language (MPL). To complete the analysis, a full-scale installation of the secondary dewatering system will be designed.