Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55

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Journal of Environmental Management

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Composting of anaerobic sludge: An economically feasible element of

a sustainable sewage sludge management
N. Cukjati a, G.D. Zupan

ci

c b, *, M. Ro
s b, V. Grilc c
a
Public Utility Company Velenje Ltd, Koro
ska 37 b, SI-3320 Velenje, Slovenia
b
Institute for Environmental Protection and Sensors, Beloruska 7, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
c
National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An investigation into the feasibility of anaerobic sludge composting, as a sustainable treatment of sewage
Received 21 June 2011 sludge management, was carried out under actual Slovenian environmental conditions. In order to
Received in revised form demonstrate successful composting, ve pilot plant experiments were performed during the summer
31 January 2012
and winter conditions. The rst three experiments were performed with pile aeration, while experi-
Accepted 1 April 2012
Available online 2 May 2012
ments 4 and 5 were carried out by pile turning. Anaerobic sludge to bulking agent ratios were set at 1
e6.4:1. The composting was successful and thermophilic temperature being achieved in all cases. In
winter conditions, the composting process was prolonged; and low ambient temperatures had a signif-
Keywords:
Anaerobic sludge
icant impact in pile turning experiments. During winter, a temperature drop of 30
C during turning of
Composting the material doubled the necessary time for an adequate composting process. Five scenarios were
Sewage sludge considered within an economic feasibility study and in the most favourable scenario, where 60% of
Stabilization compost was commercialised and 40% was used as landll cover. The payback period in this scenario was
Sustainability 2.9 years. The study of compost quality showed that it can be used in variety of civil engineering
applications, especially as a landll cover and for recultivation of degraded areas.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction et al., 2011) using various methods of energy production

Anaerobic Sludge (AS) is a potential source of organic matter,
nutrients and minerals and may be useful as an agricultural soil
supplement. Freshly digested sludge is unstable under normal
environmental conditions as it is biodegradable, has an unpleasant
odour and contains various noxious or corrosive gases such as NH3
and H2S. Therefore, it must be stabilized before it can be adequately
disposed of in the natural environment. All of these problems can
be overcome by composting, which is an obvious solution to this
problem, where all unwanted by-products can be reduced to an
acceptable level (Zbytniewski and Buszewski, 2005). Tarrasn et al.
(2008) showed that composting digested sludge provides a bene-
cial effect on availability of nitrogen in the soil.
There are few management alternatives for direct disposal of
digested sludge. With a lack of other options, mechanically dehy-
drated sludge can be dried to 90% with the use of biogas and uti-
lised as an alternative solid fuel in various industrial kilns (Grilc
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 386 2 3335 669; fax: 386 2 3335 680.
E-mail addresses: Nevenka.cukjati@kp-velenje.si (N. Cukjati), gregor.zupancic@
ios.si (G.D. Zupan

ci

c), milenkoros@gmail.com (M. Ro
s), viktor.grilc@ki.si (V. Grilc).
(Houdkov et al., 2008; Stasta et al., 2006). The net caloric value of
dry sludge is approximately 10e12 MJ kg1, with ash content
approx. 35e45%. In Slovenia, incineration has become the
predominant alternative to land applications since 2010, when
direct landll disposal of sludge was legally prohibited due to its
greenhouse gas potential.
In recent years composting anaerobic sludge has been widely
studied with different types of co-substrates and with varying
bulking agents (Nakasaki et al., 2009; Himanen and Hnninen,
2011). The composting process requires a structural material to
provide sufcient porosity and air permeability for the compost
pile. Various conventional wood or plant processing remnants have
been used as such a structural material and these include wood
chips, rough sawdust, tree bark, straw and corn stalks. The volume
ratio of sludge to bulking agent should be between 1:1 and 1:4 (Gea
et al., 2007). The majority of organic material is contributed by the
bulking agent, but signicant biodegradation by means of natural
aerobic micro-organisms occurs in the sludge organic material
(Chroni et al., 2009).
Another important factor is the presence of nitrogen. Several
authors have reported that the optimal C/N ratio is between 25/1
and 30/1 (Pakou et al., 2009). Operations at C/N ratios as low as

0301-4797/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.04.001
 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55 49

10/1 have also been reported (Yaez et al., 2009), but at such low 2.1. Materials
C/N ratios the undesirable emission of ammonia can be signicant
(Matsumura et al., 2010). In recent years, research focused more The components used in this study, described in Table 1, were
on biodegradable C/N ratio (Komilis et al., 2011), which was in fresh and supplied from local sources. The composition and most
ranges between 3.9/1 and 12.7/1. Komilis et al. (2011) introduced important physico-chemical properties of the mixtures used in the
the biodegradable C/N ratio as a novel indicator that could be experiments are presented in Table 2. Other research in this eld
used to characterize the composting process. Their conclusion (Hernndez et al., 2006; Banegas et al., 2007; Grigatti et al., 2011)
was that initial total C/N ratio did not correlate signicantly with has mostly applied the well established sludge to bulking agent
the degradability of the mixtures as opposed to the biodegradable volume ratio 1:1 to 1:4. However, the goal of the present study was
C/N ratio. While total C/N ratio did not change much during the to minimize the quantity of bulking agent due to economic reasons
process, the biodegradable C/N increased from average 10 to 20. and therefore substantially, by increasing the ratio from 1:1 up to
High oxygen content in the air contributes to more rapid 6.4:1 in order to assess the composting process feasibility with such
degradation (Sundberg and Jnsson, 2008) and prevent formation high ratio mixtures.
of anaerobic zones. Highest degradation rate in the compost pile
was achieved when the air oxygen concentration was above 15% 2.2. Experimental
(Day and Schaw, 2001) and the quality of aeration depends
primarily on the structure and granulation of the composting Five pilot scale experiments were performed. Experiments 1e3
material. Finer material has generally enabled a more effectively were carried out with forced aeration, while in experiments 4 and 5
aerated compost pile, but at the expense of higher power aeration was achieved with mechanical turning of the material in
consumption. In the rst stage of degradation, organic acids are the elongated piles (windrows). In experiments 1e3 equally sized
generated, which decrease the pH in the compost pile. The piles (length  width  height 3.0  2.5  0.75 m) with an initial
optimum pH range by which micro-organisms function is 5.5e8.5 content of about 5 m3 of composting mixture were used. The
(Snchez-Monedero et al., 2001). This research found that when compost piles were covered with a water resistant, air permeable
the conductivity of the compost material is higher than membrane weighing 200 g m2. An aeration system was installed
8  105 mS cm1 it becomes a limiting factor for growth of micro- at the base of a compost pile and consisted of 6 parallel alkatene
organisms and consequently for organic matter degradation. plastic perforated tubes, 2 m long, 0.12 m in diameter, and 0.4 m
Elevated temperature of the compost material during operation is apart, with 0.7 mm perforations. The capacity of the aeration
a consequence of the exothermal biodegradation of organic matter. system was 120 m3 h1. At pile temperatures below 65
C, the
The optimum temperature for composting, which provides path- aeration system was operating alternately in on/off mode, above
ogenic micro-organisms to be sanitised, has been found between 65
C it operated continuously in order to cool the compost pile. In
55 and 70
C (Wry et al., 2008). In the initial phases of composting the experiments 1e3, the temperature was monitored online, with
the predominant micro-organisms are fungi and mesophilic the temperature probe being set 0.45 m below the surface in the
bacteria. These contribute to the temperature increase, but are centre of the pile. The pile temperature was controlled by means of
mostly sanitised in the thermophilic range. When temperature aeration intensity. No watering was applied during the experiment.
decreases, many of the initial mesophilic micro-organisms reap- Experiments 4 and 5 were nearly full-scale. The elongated
pear, but more highly evolved organisms such as protozoa and windrows of trapezoidal cross-section had the bottom width of
arthropods predominate (Schuchard, 2005). For optimum com- 4.5 m, top width 3.0 m, height 2.5 m and length of 45 m; its
posting operation the correct conditions are determined by particle approximate volume was 420 m3. No aeration system was installed;
size distribution, material moisture and oxygen concentration. therefore the piles had to be aerated by mechanical turning with
Mohee and Mudhoo (2005) have shown that the air gaps in the a landll loader. Experiment 4 was conducted in Autumn/Fall, while
compost pile can be reduced during the process from an initial experiment 5 was carried out during winter. In winter conditions it
76.3% to a nal 40.0%. The optimum moisture content in the is essential that turning was conducted as rapidly as possible to
compost material should be between 50% and 70% (Ahn et al.,
2008). Table 1
The objective of the present study was to examine the feasibility Main physical properties of the inlet composting process components.
of the anaerobic sludge stabilization process for sustainable sludge Component Parameter Unit Average measured valuesa
management in the Slovenian (i.e. alpine) environment. Pilot scale Anaerobic DM % 23.3  1.93
and near full-scale experiments, extreme summer and winter sludge LoI % DM 56.6  6.22
conditions and the economic and environmental acceptability of TOC % DM 31.3  3.47
such a process were of particular concern. GCV MJ kg1 DM 12.1  1.50
N % DM 4.3  0.20
P % DM 5.1  0.30
K % DM 0.5  0.08
2. Materials and methods Bulk density kg m3 725  25
Particle size mm <1
A pilot composting experiment, using the anaerobic sludge from Wood chips/ Particle size mm (30e80)  (5e10)  (1e5)
splinters Bulk density kg m3 280e300
a local municipal wastewater treatment plant of Velenje, a town of DM % 45e60
33,000 inhabitants in Northern Slovenia, was conducted outdoors Wood bark Particle size mm (30e1200)  (10e30)  (1e5)
under prevailing environmental conditions. Five experiments were Bulk density kg m3 290e310
conducted from midsummer to midwinter. Anaerobic sludge was DM % 65e75
Sawdust Particle size mm 1e5
acquired from a mesophilic digester, which treated primary,
Bulk density kg m3 200e250
secondary and tertiary sludge from the municipal wastewater DM % 45e55
treatment plant. Mixtures of fresh sawdust, wood chips and tree
DM-dry matter, LoI-loss on ignition, TOC-total organic carbon, GVC-gross caloric
bark in different ratios were used as structural materials. No value.
microbiotic or fertilizing additives were used to initiate the com- a
Statistical data are presented for a 4 month period on the basis of weekly
posting process. composed samples.
50 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55

Table 2
Parameters of initial conditions in the composting experiments.

Input parameters Units Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4 Experiment 5

AS:WC:SD:TB m3 4:3:2:1 5:1.5:1:1 3:1:1:0 1:0.5:0:0.5 1:2:0:1
AS:WC:SD:TB kg 5.5:1.6:1:0.6 15.5:2.2:1:1.3 11.6:0.8:1:0 3: 0.6:0:0.4 1:0.5:0:0.5
AS:WB kg 1.7:1 3.4:1 6.4:1 3:1 1:1
Volume m3 w5.0 w5.8 w5.3 w420 w420
Bulk density kg m3 589  8.8 552  8,8 624  9.3 615  9.2 550  8.2
pH e 8.4  0.1 8.2  0.1 8.3  0.1 8.1  0.1 8.3  0.1
Conductivity mS cm1 668  6.6 766  11.5 921  13.8 720  11,1 670  10.1
Dry residue % 31.0  0.9 32.4  1.1 31.6  1.2 31.3  0.9 35.2  1.3
Loss on ignition % DM 64.5  6.4 68.2  3.7 63.3  5.6 67.9  4.1 64.1  5.6
Porosity % 56  2.5 52  3.1 48  2.2 54  2.0 58  4.2
Ptotal % DM 2.1  0.4 4.8  0.5 2.9  0.3 n.d. n.d.
Ktotal % DM n.d. 0.4  0.1 0.1  0.03 n.d. n.d.
C:N ratio, total e 9.4:1 8.9:1 n.d. n.d. n.d.
Aeration ow rate m3 m3 h1 2 2 1 e e

AS-anaerobic sludge, WC-wood chips, SD-saw dust, TB-tree bark, WB-wood biomass WC SD TB, DM-dry matter, n.d.-not determined.

prevent cooling of the material. Experiment 4 lasted for 47 days,
material turning being conducted on days 7, 15, 25, 32 and 40. In
experiment 5, which lasted for 75 days, turning was conducted on
days 13, 23, 38, 51 and 65. In experiments 4 and 5, temperature was
measured on a daily basis at 4 central equidistant locations along
the windrow, 1 m below the surface.
The temperature of the freshly supplied, mechanically dehy-
drated anaerobic sludge was 25e30
C. After mixing with the
bulking material the temperature decreased to 10e20
C, in winter
conditions to 1e5
C. In the course of the experiments the objective
was to achieve successful composting with the smallest amount of
structural material and in the shortest time possible, for economic
reasons.
2.3. Analytical methods
In the experiments 1e3 sampling and monitoring was con-
ducted every second week centrally along the piles, 0.3 m apart and
0.3 m below the surface of the compost pile by means of a screw
sampler. In experiments 4 and 5, material sampling and tempera-
ture monitoring was conducted at 4 central equidistant points
along the length of the compost windrow, 1 m below the surface.
The samples were disintegrated to particles less than 1 mm in size
prior to further analysis. The volumetric porosity of the compost
material was determined by an internal displacement method
(Miheli

c, 1991). Oxygen in the compost piles was measured 20 min
after each aeration using portable meters (Sewerin SR2-DO and
Drger Mini Warm). Table 3 presents all of the applied analytical
methods in the experiments. All measurements were performed in
Table 3
Standard methods used in characterization of components and products.
parallel (except gas measurements), averages and standard devia-
tions were calculated with MS excel 2010, where measurement
uncertainty was also considered and determined in accordance
with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement
(BIPM et al., 1995). For the calculation of uncertainty a coverage
factor k 2 was used, that gives a level of condence of approxi-
mately 95%.
3. Results and discussion
Recent studies of the composting of anaerobic sludge
(Hernndez et al., 2006; Banegas et al., 2007; Himanen and
Hnninen, 2011) reported no problems in reaching the required
thermophilic temperature. Although the sludge is anaerobic in
origin, it still contains enough biodegradable organic matter to
break down further in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. In the
present study this process was tested in stringent environmental
conditions, especially in winter. The environmental conditions (air
temperature and precipitation) had no effect in experiments 1e3
but had a signicant impact in experiments 4 and 5, which were
conducted in fall and winter conditions. The best results with pile
aeration (experiments 1e3) were achieved when full aeration was
applied for one minute each hour (corresponding to 2 m3 m3 h1).
Above 65
C the pile was aerated continuously to compensate for
the temperature increase. The design of the aeration system did not
manage to provide sufciently low pressure for continuous aera-
tion and the pile was unequally aerated, therefore an on/off system
was applied. The conductivity of the compost increased during the
experiments, and this can be attributed to the degradation of
complex organic matter into species of low molecular weight,
which dissipate in the wet compost. The nal parameters of the
experiments are presented in Table 4.

Parameter Standard methods

3.1. Experiments 1e3
Sludge Compost mixture
Dry matter EN 12879:2005 EN 14346:2006 Experiment 1 had the lowest ratio of anaerobic sludge (AS) to
Loss on ignition EN 12879:2005 EN 15169:2007 wood biomass (WB) of 1.7:1 (Table 2) and was also the most
Total organic carbon e TOC EN 13137:2001 EN 13137:2001
Adsorbable organohalogens e AOX ISO 10382:2002 ISO 10382:2002
successful. The thermophilic temperature was achieved in 4 days of
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons e PAH EN 15527:2008 EN 15527:2008 operation (Fig. 1). This result is similar to that reported by Himanen
Polychlorinated biphenyls e PCB ISO 10382:2002 EN 15308:2008 and Hnninen (2011), where compost mixture 1:1 of AS and peat
Particle size ISO 3310-1:2000 EN 15415-2:2011 was used. Banegas et al. (2007) reported that 1:1 mixture of AS and
Bulk density e EN 15103:2009
sawdust (SD) did not achieve thermophilic temperature. They
N EN13342:2000 EN 15309:2007
P EN 14672:2005 EN 14672:2005 stated that this was due to high zinc concentrations in AS, as well as
Light and heavy metals EN13346:2000 EN 15309:2007 a low proportion of bulking agent. In their case, 1:3 ratio of AS to
Leaching test EN 12457-4:2007 EN 12457-4:2007 sawdust was successful to achieve thermophilic temperature in
pH EN 12176:1998 EN 12506:2004 approx. 20 days. Increasing the AS to WB ratio to 3.4:1 in experi-
Conductivity EN 27888:1993 EN 27888:1993
Salmonella CN/TR 15215:2006 CN/TR 15215:2006
ment 2 still resulted in an efcient composting process. However,
reduced porosity (Table 2) had a signicant effect. Thermophilic
 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55 51

Table 4
Final parameters of the mixtures, obtained in the experiments.

Parameters Units Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4 Experiment 5

Duration days 31 31 86 46 74
Weather conditions e Fall, occasional rain Winter, rain and snow Summer-fall Fall, occasional rain Winter, snow
Compost temperature >55
C days 10 11 25 12 7
pH e 7.2  0.1 7.3  0.1 7.1  0.1 7.4  0.1 7.3  0.1
Conductivity mS cm1 1386  20.7 1771  26.6 1851  27.8 1800  27.0 1420  21.3
DM increase % 8.0  1.1 3.5  0.6 26.8  1.5 5.3  0.8 2.5  0.5
OM mineralization rate % 5.7  0.8 6.7  0.7 6.3  0.8 6.5  0.6 6.2  0.5
Porosity reduction % 8.9  1.0 11.5  1.1 4.2  0.7 10.3  0.9 9.2  0.8
Volume reduction % 4.0  0.9 3.4  0.7 13.7  1.3 6.2  0.9 3.6  0.6
Ptotal % DM 2.8  0.5 5.2  0.4 3.0  0.4 n.d. n.d.
Ktotal % DM n.d. 0.4  0.08 0.4  0.09 n.d. n.d.
C:N, total by mass 9.2:1 8.6:1 n.d. n.d. n.d.

DM e dry matter, OM e organic matter, n.d. e not determined.

temperature was achieved in 12 days and the process lasted for 31
days, as demonstrated in experiment 1. A further increase of AS to
the ratio of 6.4:1 in experiment 3 drastically slowed down the
composting process. Thermophilic temperature was achieved in 20
days and the process lasted 86 days. The results are comparable to
the research of Banegas et al. (2007) where 1:3 ratio of AS and SD
was used. Much less bulking agent was used in the current exper-
iments, but with a smaller proportion of SD (Table 2). It suggests
that using tree bark (TB) and wood chips (WC) improves the
porosity and overall performance. The current study estimates the
ratio of 1:1 to 3.4:1 of AS to WB (mostly TB and WC) as optimal for
successful performance of AS composting. Using ratios of up to
6.4:1 the AS composting is achievable but less optimal, due to
longer process time and therefore more expenditure. This was
conrmed by gas measurements in the compost pile. On day 72 of
the experiment 3 the oxygen content of the air in the compost pile
was 17.6e18.1%, whereas at day 8 of experiments 1 and 2 it had
already reached 20.1% (air oxygen concentration was 20.9%) which
shows an increased activity in the compost piles of experiment 1
and 2. The average daily gaseous content of the compost pile in
experiment 1 is shown in Fig. 2. Methane was detected in the rst
ve days (max. concentration 3.5 vol. %) and in the rst eight days
H2S was also present (max. concentration 25.3 ppm), which implies
that anaerobic zones are present in the compost pile. The current
study determines that the problem of anaerobic zones is a conse-
quence of a delicate balance between the required temperature and
time of aeration. Increasing the aeration immediately decreases the
pile temperature due to air-cooling effect. There are two likely
reasons for this, rstly, the compost mixture contains little
degradable material and consequently less heat can be created.
Secondly, the compost pile is rather small and heat losses are
signicant, which consequently reduces the temperature. This
needs to be further investigated before a full-scale application is
installed. External air temperatures did not inuence the com-
posting process signicantly. In comparing Experiments 1 and 2 it
can be observed that in the rst phases of the process air temper-
atures are similar whereas compost pile temperature of experiment
1 is higher. In the latter phases of the process, the air temperature of
experiment 2 was lower, even freezing at times, whereas the
compost pile was warmer that in experiment 1. This indicates that
heat losses were less signicant than heat produced in the process.
This is also evident in experiment 3. Although higher air temper-
atures were present, the compost pile temperature increased more
slowly. This is most likely a consequence of insufcient air supply in
experiment 3 (Table 2). The present study encountered technical
problems during the initial stage of the process (from day 10
onward) and air ow was reduced by 50%. Taking this difculty into
account, the application of a higher air ow, experiment 3 may have
performed more satisfactorily.
The process parameters were also evaluated through the dry
matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) concentrations (Table 4). The
DM concentration in experiment 3 showed the highest increase.
This is a consequence of the high proportion of degradable AS in the
compost mixture and of the dry summer conditions, when very
little rainfall occurred and, as a result, some water evaporated from
the composting mixture. In experiment 1 the decrease in DM
concentration was moderate. This was expected because the
portion of AS was much smaller, more rain having fallen during the
experiment and a smaller amount of water evaporated. In winter,
the DM concentration increased, due to additional rain and snow-
fall. Although, the compost pile was covered with a semi-
permeable membrane, the occasional melting of snow contrib-
uted to an increase in the moisture in the compost and snow cover
also minimised water evaporation. OM mineralization rate was
from 5.7% to 6.7%, similarly as observed by other researchers.
Banegas et al. (2007) observed a 7.87% and 5.57% OM mineraliza-
tion rate for AS to SD mixtures 1:1 and 1:3, respectively, whereas

Fig. 1. Temperature proles in Experiments 1e3. Fig. 2. Gaseous content in Experiment 2.

52 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55
Hernndez et al. (2006) observed an 8.45% and 15.3% OM miner-
alization rate for AS to SD mixtures 1:1 and 1:3, respectively.
3.2. Experiments 4 and 5
Thermophilic temperature (55e65
C) in experiment 4 was
already achieved in 5 days in parts of the pile, whereas for average
temperature it took 21 days to achieve thermophilic range. Other
authors using pile turning windrows report similar results. Grigatti
et al. (2011) reported thermophilic temperature was achieved in 15
days using a mixture of sludge to bulking agent 1:4 and Pons et al.
(2009) reported thermophilic temperature in 15 days using
a mixture of sludge to bulking agent from 1:2 to 1:3. It is clear that
with every turning of the pile there was a signicant negative
impact on process temperature. The temperature drop during the
turning process depends mostly upon the surrounding air
temperature and it is vital that the turning process be performed as
quickly as possible. In experiment 4 after the rst turning of the
compost on day 9 at an air temperature of 20.7
C, the temperature
drop was 5
C. On day 24 the ambient temperature was 11.1
C and
the temperature drop in the compost pile was 10
C. The data is
presented in Fig. 3. In experiment 5 thermophilic temperature was
achieved in day 58 and persisted for 8 consecutive days. The data in
Figs. 4 and 5 shows that under the winter conditions the ambient
temperature had an even more signicant impact during the
turning of the compost mixture. The maximum temperature drop
of 30
C was during the turning on day 22 when the ambient air
temperature was 3.2
C. The composting process is more sensitive
to temperature drops in the preliminary phases of the experiment,
when the composting process and corresponding microbiological
community is being set up. Turnings in the latter phases of the
experiment had less signicant effect. The temperature drops on
days 37 and 50 were only 9
C although the outside temperatures
were 8.2
C and 5.1
C, respectively. In further work it may be
advisable to redesign the process in such a way that turnings are
applied less frequently in the early phases of the composting. OM
mineralization rate was similar as in experiments 1e3, from 6.2% to
6.5% (Table 4) which corresponds with other authors mentioned
previously (Hernndez et al., 2006; Banegas et al., 2007).
3.3. Economic feasibility
The economic feasibility was determined with a dynamic
method (European Commission, 2006), which calculates the net
Fig. 3. Temperature prole in Experiment 4.
present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). The discount
rate considered is 7% and the desired payback period is 10 years.
The alternative method of sludge management is incineration, the
most generally applied method in Slovenia (Grilc et al., 2011) with
average cost at 126 V per tonne of wet dehydrated sludge. There-
fore, the main factor considered in the economic analysis was the
difference between the cost of sludge composting and that of
incineration. The local municipal wastewater treatment plant,
which supplied the sludge for the experiments reported within this
study, annually produces 3280 tonnes of wet dehydrated sludge.
This quantity was the initial point for calculations with regards to
the present study. Five scenarios for the sludge management have
been studied according to specic local needs and options. These
are presented as follows:
1. Because raw sludge is accepted from other local treatment
plants, the AS quantity is expected to increase by 9% each year
from 3280 tonnes to the maximum capacity of installed plant
for anaerobic digestion. This will produce 7120 tonnes of AS
annually after 10 years but no revenues are assumed to be
associated with acceptance of this additional sludge. The
produced compost is not commercialised, but is used as the
nal cover on the local landll. The local landll is managed by
the same operator as the wastewater treatment plant which
produces the AS. At the maximum production of compost, the
landll can manage this quantity of compost for some 20 years.
2. The AS quantity is expected to increase by 9% each year from
3280 tonnes to the maximum capacity of 7120 tonnes. After
ve years 60% of the compost produced is commercialised at
a price of 41 V per tonne, the remainder is used as landll
cover.
3. The AS quantity is increased immediately to the capacity of
6500 tonnes. The produced compost is not commercialised, but
is used as local landll cover.
4. The AS quantity is increased immediately to the capacity of
6500 tonnes. After ve years 60% of produced compost is
commercialised at the price of 41 V per tonne, the remainder is
used as landll cover.
5. As in scenario 1, but additionally the revenues of accepting
municipal sludge from other treatment plants
(60 V per wet tonne) is considered in the calculation.
Full-scale installation requires an asphalt or concrete platform,
equipped with an aeration system or/and turning vehicle, each
 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55 53

Fig. 4. Temperature prole in Experiment 5.

assuming 50% of the load, housing and gas emission treatment
(biolter) for composting with aeration and only roong for com-
posting with pile turning. The platform should be properly sloped
in order to collect spontaneous leachate and precipitation. The
investment costs of such composting plant with capacity of
7120 tonnes are 462,646 V including preparation and processing
equipment. Annual costs consist of manpower costs, bulking agent
costs, energy costs, material costs, analytical costs, a 10% overhead,
and amount between 250,000 V and 360,000 V, depending on the
quantity of bulking agent and energy and material costs. In Fig. 5,
annual expenditures and revenues with the total balance (sum of
all up to date expenditures and revenues) from all the scenarios are
presented.
This analysis shows that all scenarios except #1 are economi-
cally feasible. The sludge management presented is sustainable if
the IRR value is >7.0% (discount rate) and the NPV value is positive.
The IRRs for the 5 scenarios, taken consecutively, are 6.8%, 17.5%,
37.4%, 43.9% and 19.7% and the NPV values are 6797 V, 529,611 V,
805,996 V, 1,390,230 V and 612,245 V, respectively. The payback
periods on the investment regarding the scenarios 2 to 5 were 7.5,
2.9, 2.9 and 7.0 years, respectively. Scenario 1 is just barely infea-
sible; a revenue of only 1 V per tonne of municipal sludge accepted
from other treatment plants would render it feasible with the
payback period of 10.0 years. Also, in this analysis it was assumed
that the majority of the produced compost would be used as
a landll cover with no additional costs. This analysis does not
consider the soil costs of the landll cover if no composting takes
place. Precise determination of this factor proved difcult and
consequently it was omitted from consideration. If this is consid-
ered with a minimum cost (approx. 1 V per tonne), scenario 1 may
be economically feasible. Considering all scenarios it is clear that for
a more economically viable operation of the composting plant,

Fig. 5. Economic analysis of the foreseen composting plant.

54 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55

Table 5
Characteristics of the anaerobic sludge and its composted mixture.

Parameter Unit Limit values (land application) Measured values

Sewage sludgeb Sewage sludgec 2nd quality compostd Anaerobic sludge Final mixture (experiment 5)
Anaerobic sludge/Compost
Dry matter (DM) % e e e 23.3  1.93 66.1  4.53
Loss on ignition % DM e e e 56.6  6.22 36.7  4.04
TOC % DM e e e 31.3  3.47 21.4  2.37
Arsenic mg kg1 DM e e e b.d. b.d.
Cadmium mg kg1 DM 20e40 10 1.5 1.32  0.41 1.42  0.44
Chromium mg kg1 DM e 900 200 60.7  18.6 49.9  15.3
Cobalt mg kg1 DM e e e 7.38  1.35 6.98  1.23
Copper mg kg1 DM 100e1750 800 300 166  26.7 147  23.7
Lead mg kg1 DM 750e1200 900 250 63.2  13.8 56.1  12.2
Mercury mg kg1 DM 16e25 8 1.5 1.56  0.24 1.60  0.25
Nickel mg kg1 DM 300e400 200 75 7.02  1.20 25.3  4.40
Zinc mg kg1 DM 2500e4000 2500 1200 920  228 855  212
AOX mg kg1 DM e e e 1.60  0.14 3.30  0.29
BTX mg kg1 DM e e e b.d. n.d.
PAH mg kg1 DM e e 3 b.d. 0.16  0.06
PCBa mg kg1 DM e e 1 b.d. b.d.

Inert wastee Non-hazardous wastee

Standard leachate from anaerobic sludge & compost (landll relevance)
pH e e 6e13 8.0  0.1 7.6  0.1
Total dry solids mg L1 400 6000 803  45.3 660  42.8
DOC mg L1 50 80 284  18.4 31.2  2.88
Antimony mg L1 0.006 0.07 0.020  0.002 b.d.
Arsenic mg L1 0.05 0.2 0.0070  0.0004 b.d.
1
Barium mg L 2 10 0.017  0.002 0.83  0.09
1
Cadmium mg L 0.04 0.1 0.0010  0.0007 b.d.
1
Chromium, tot. mg L 0.05 1 b.d b.d.
Copper mg L1 0.2 5 0.154  0.020 b.d.
Nickel mg L1 0.04 1 0.033  0.006 0.007  0.001
Mercury mg L1 0.001 0.02 b.d. b.d.
Molybdenum mg L1 0.05 1 n.d. 0.005  0.002
1
Selenium mg L 0.01 0.05 b.d. b.d.
1
Lead mg L 0.05 1 0.022  0.005 b.d.
1
Zinc mg L 0.4 5 0.135  0.030 0.300  0.070

n.d. e not determined, b.d. e below detection limit.

a
Sum of PCBs No. 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180 and 194.
b
Sewage sludge directive (1986).
c
AbfKlrV (Germany, 1992).
d
Ordinance RS-biodegradable waste (2008).
e
Ordinance RS-waste disposal (2006).

accepting additional sludge and increasing the processed quantity
is, in terms of shortening the payback period, more viable than
sludge commercialisation. Commercialisation of produced compost
after ve years has no impact on the payback period if the capacity
of the composting plant is 82% fullled. The payback period is
considerably shorter with even higher percentages of fullment,
regardless of compost commercialisation, which is also market
dependent and therefore speculative.
3.4. Compost quality
Environmental impact assessment of an outdoor composting
plant for anaerobic sludge stabilization must take into consider-
ation both the plant emissions and the quality of the compost
produced. The rst aspect mainly relates mainly to odour emission
which was not measured and is not considered in this study.
Unpleasant odours may be released only during mechanical turning
of the material and air treatment is not necessary if the plant is
located well away from inhabited areas, as is the case in Velenje. For
the aerated piles an air collection system, tted with a biolter, is
planned. Dust emissions from periodical mechanical turnover are
not considered critical when the compost is properly wetted; noise
emissions can be controlled by selection of appropriate low noise
equipment.
The compost quality depends on the content of pollutants such
as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POP), pathogenic
bacteria and inert matter in the mature compost. The properties of
the standard compost leachate must also be considered. Heavy
metals and POPs accumulate during the composting process and
may cause problems upon utilization. The content of heavy metals
and POPs is determined by quality of the input material, which
should be carefully controlled in sewage sludge or in the raw
wastewater, by additional treatment and reduction at the source.
Pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Streptococci and Coliforms
may originate from the sludge or from other composting materials,
although it has not been the case in this study. If the thermophilic
phase period of the composting process (T > 65
C) has persisted
for more than a few days, the compost produced may be considered
sanitized and free of pathogens. This was the case within the
present experiments where Salmonella was determined to be
absent in the initial sludge as well as in the nal compost mixture.
The analytical results from the sludge and compost mixture are
presented in Table 5, where limit values for sludge or compost
utilisation in agriculture and for disposal of inert/non-hazardous
wastes at landlls are also presented. As can be seen, no param-
eter was found to be critical either for recycling as second class
compost or for disposal. The compost considered here can therefore
be used in a broad variety of civil engineering works, particularly
 N. Cukjati et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 106 (2012) 48e55
for recultivation of degraded areas. However, it is not suitable for
agricultural use due to the elevated content of cadmium, mercury
and zinc. With respect to limiting values, the compost may be
considered to be non-hazardous waste; but the limits for inert
wastes in the standard leachate are exceeded in the case of some
heavy metals, for example, barium, molybdenum and zinc. Among
organic contaminants only AOX were measured in the raw sludge
and in the nal compost mixture. These substances are persistent
to bacterial activity so that no degradation was observed; corre-
sponding increase of their content was noted, similar as in the case
of heavy metals. The content however is very low. As yet, POPs
content in compost for land use has not been limited. In the raw
sludge for use on land the limit value of 500 mg/kg DM of AOX was
proposed in the draft EU document, which seems quite high (Anon,
2000).
This compost can be used as a biolter ll, or as a nal cover on
landlls with thickness of 1.2e1.5 m, which is the case of the
compost produced in this study. This is also the reason why no
stability/maturity studies were performed at this point, because
fresh compost was needed. The produced unseparated compost is
used as a biolter to capture and biologically oxidise the landll gas
(methane) and other organic compounds found in the landll gas.
This is the subject of further research.
4. Conclusions
A study of composting of anaerobically digested sewage sludge
with sawdust, wood chips and tree bark as bulking agents was
carried out. It was conrmed that using higher sludge to bulking
agent ratio of up to 3:1 compared to conventional 1:3 ratio still
yields comparable results to other research in this eld (Hernndez
et al., 2006; Banegas et al., 2007). The organic matter mineraliza-
tion rate was 5.7e6.7% and thermophilic temperature was achieved
in all cases despite the occasional harsh winter conditions (min. air
temperature 11.5
C). The results of compost quality analysis has
shown that it can be used as landll cover or soil supplement in
degraded areas after construction of, for example, buildings or
roads, and gardening, though not for food production.
The current research and experience gained with this pilot
project suggests that investment in such sludge management is
economically feasible, since it costs considerably less than incin-
eration in Slovenian conditions (Grilc et al., 2011) and has accept-
able environmental impacts for certain applications.
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