Natural freezing, drying, and composting for treatment of septic sludge

A full-scale experimental plant intended for local treatment of septic sludge, situated in northern Sweden, is presented in this paper. The concept investigated included natural freezing, thawing, and drying in combination with composting. The experimental plant consisted of an undrained freezing-thawing-drying bed and a heat-insulated composter. About 500 L of fresh sludge, with a dry matter (DM) content of 4-5%, collected from a septic tank employed by one family, was transferred to the freezing-thawing-drying bed in the beginning of November 1996. During the winter months, the sludge froze and then thawed in the middle of May 1997. During a drying period of three weeks, the DM content increased from 10.6-21.3 to 25-95%. The final sludge volume and weight were 180 L and 54 kg, respectively. Approximate concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and total organic carbon of the dried sludge were determined to be 23, 5.9, and 346 g/kg DM. From June until the end of August, the sludge was cocomposted with kitchen refuse. Within two weeks, the composting temperature exceeded 65 degrees C. The measured composting temperature indicated a high pathogen die-off, but before this concept can be suggested as an alternative to conventional septic sludge treatment, further studies should be conducted, including direct measurements of pathogens. The concept, however, has proved to be of interest in cold regions due to its simple construction and operation.