Characterization of sludge from the Fez wastewater treatment plant

¹ Engineering Sciences and Applications Laboratory, National School of Applied Sciences of Al-Hoceima, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco
² Laboratory of Functional Ecology and Environment Engineering, University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez 30500, Morocco

Abstract

The Fès wastewater treatment plant is of the activated sludge type. It has been in service since 2014, and receives 155,400 cubic meters per day of domestic wastewater from numerous urban and rural communities: Fès, Ras El Ma, Oulad Tayeb and Ain Chkef. On the one hand, this WWTP generates clean, purified water which is discharged into the receiving environment without any harm to the environment, and on the other, it produces huge quantities of residual sludge, i.e. 5,100 t/year. The aim of this study is to characterize the sludge from the Fez wastewater treatment plant, following sludge treatability tests by monitoring the various analytical parameters. To be able to choose the right technique for the type of sludge to be treated. In our case, for sludge from the Fez wastewater treatment plant, physico-chemical characteristics were carried out for COD, BOD5, TSS, total nitrogen and phosphorus, showing the sludge’s richness in nutrients. The characterization of the sludge from the Fez wastewater treatment plant showed the potential of this product to be valorized.