Low heating value prediction from proximate analysis for sewage sludge samples

As global renewable energy demand grows, sludge from urban waste water treatment plants could be one of the available renewable energy resources. Thermal treatment of sludge is becoming more and more attractive due to the destruction of dangerous constituents and the reduction of their volume. The article presents a correlation equation based on the volatile matter content, which allows calculating the low heating value of sludge samples from a city wastewater treatment plant. The equation was developed by evaluating the characteristics of more than 40 sludge samples analysed in the laboratory.
Validation of the equation revealed that the heating value deviation from the experimental one was below 3.5%. The estimation of the low heating value of sludge samples based on the determination of volatile matter content is important where the experimental determination of the low heating value involves time and the use of high-tech laboratory equipment.