Proposal for the treatment of sludge generated at the Tereré WTP in the city of Tena by means of a physical-chemical and microbiological characterisation

The Tereré wastewater treatment plant located in the city of Tena in the Ecuadorian Amazon region treats urban liquid inflows by means of a membrane bioreactor, which has an organic load removal efficiency of 98%. Within the treatment plant, sewage sludge is generated, which goes through a drying process and is disposed of at a landfill site. In this project, the sludge’s physical-chemical and microbiological characteristics were determined using three samples where nine parameters were analysed (pH, %Humidity, %N, %OM, %P, C/N, Faecal Coliforms, Salmonella spp. and Heavy metals). The results highlight the presence of a large amount of pathogens (faecal coliforms, Salmonella spp.), for which two treatment proposals were established, consisting of alkaline stabilisation and composting, where the latter presents greater viability due to its low investment costs and simple operation technique. In addition, the city council will be able to utilise and commercialise the compost bags that will be obtained from the treatment.