A smart centrifuge camera for testing dewatering ability of waste-water sludges in hyper-gravity

Introduction

The EU produces more than 45,000 tons of waste-water sludge per day as a byproduct of municipal and industrial water purification activities. This enormous amount can become a gold mine for materials recovery or an environmental burden, depending on how well waste-treatment plants can remove water from these sludges.

Current Challenges

Today, sludge treatment processes are based on unoptimized methods, which rely on operator experience and low-tech equipment. These methods are not able to deal with the fast-changing sludge type evolution, resulting in:

• Loss of time
• Loss of energy
• Loss of money
• Negative environmental impact

Project Overview

The SludgeCam project will deliver an innovative smart camera centrifuge, featuring advanced software, hardware, and sensing capabilities. This technology will enable plant operators to:

1. Consciously adapt treatment process parameters
2. Select flocculant polymers
3. Set standards for different sludge types

These actions will be based on solid, reproducible data, leading to more environmentally-friendly water treatment operations and drastically reduced energy consumption for sludge incineration.