Effect of a novel cationic surfactant on dewaterability of activated sludge

The addition of the surfactant can greatly reduce the moisture content of the sludge. But little research has been done on the synthesis of surfactants and the mechanism of dehydration. Thus, a novel cationic surfactant ZWY-28 with higher surface activity and more surface charge was investigating for sludge dewatering in this research. Results showed that when the content of ZWY-28 was 1% (0.14 g/L), the specific resistance to the filtration of sludge had a minimum value of 2.04 × 10 12 m/kg, the moisture content of the dehydrated sludge cake reached a minimum of 78.9%, the bound water reduced to 6.32 g/g, decreased by 39.2%. What’s more, the ZWY-28 is extremely helpful in releasing Extracellular polymers substances from sludge, lead to the removal of bound water, which is the key point of affecting sludge dewatering. The study clearly illustrated that the surfactant ZWY-28 accelerated the dewatering process and could be used as a potential agent for sludge. Meanwhile, it provides ideas for the selection and structure design of surfactants in sludge dewatering.