Airflow Resistance in Sewage Sludge Composting Aeration Systems

Abstract

ABSTRACT THE rational design of airflow distribution systems for sewage sludge composting is presented based upon the airflow resistance in the various components of the air distribution systems. The results indicate that dividing flow (forced aeration) encounters less air resistance than combining flow (vacuum induced aera-tion) and produces a more uniform distribution of air along the uniformly perforated aeration duct. However, the combining flow system (vacuum induced) does have the capability of including a scrubber pile for odor con-trol which has a significant advantage. Therefore, some combination of the two systems may be desirable to achieve high fan and composting efficiency.