www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | OCTOBER 2015 | 25
In the know
Dried sewage sludge could
be an alternative cement
material for concrete,
researchers from Universiti
Teknologi MARA in Malaysia
have found.
The disposal of sludge
from sewage water treatment
is a big issue for wastewater
plants in Malaysia, with
stricter environmental
regulations recently
enforced, including a ban
RESEARCH ROUND UP
Sewage sludge used
to make concrete
on burying sludge in soil.
Meanwhile, the construction
sector is seeking economic
and ecological cement
replacement materials in
order to meet an increasing
demand for concrete.
The research team
produced domestic waste
sludge powder (DWSP) by
drying and burning wet
sludge cake to remove
moisture, and then grinding
RISING UP
Water UK has
announced that
Michael Roberts
(pictured) will be its
new chief executive.
Roberts, who currently
leads the Association of Train Operating
Companies, will take over from Pamela
Taylor at the end of the year.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW)
has appointed Tom Taylor as the
new chair of its committee for Wales.
Taylor, who is the commercial director
of the Institute of Environmental
Management and Assessment, will take
over from Diane McCrea who stands
down a er ten years in the role.
Nicola Henderson has been elected
Chairman of the British Water Technical
Forum. Henderson, who is Head of
Proposals at AECOM, will take up the
position in November, when Alastair
Moseley of Murphy Group, the current
Chairman, steps down.
and sieving the dried
sludge cake. Using different
proportions of DWSP (3, 5, 7,
10 and 15%), the researchers
mixed it with cement to
produce varying grades of
concrete (30, 40 and 50).
They then compared each
DWSP concrete mixture with
normal concrete in terms
of its compressive strength,
water absorption, water
permeability and rapid
chloride ion penetration (i.e.
permeability to salt).
The team found that the
compressive strengths of
DWSP concrete decreased
as the proportion of DWSP
increased in the concrete
mix, while both water
absorption and water
permeability increased.
However, normal concrete
was more permeable than
DWSP concrete at Grade
40, suggesting that DWSP
enhanced the durability of
concrete at this grade.
● 27 Getting to grips: CHP systems
● 31 Digging deeper: UV disinfection
● 39 Technically speaking: dissolved oxygen
● 43 Products: pumps and pumping systems
