A. Processes To Significantly Reduce Pathogens
Aerobic digestion: The process is conducted by agitating sludge with air or oxygen to maintain aerobic conditions at residence times ranging from 60 days at 15 °C to 40 days at 20 °C, with a volatile solids reduction of at least 38 percent.
Air Drying: Liquid sludge is allowed to drain and/or dry on under-drained sand beds, or paved or unpaved basins in which the sludge is at a depth of nine inches. A minimum of three months is needed, two months of which temperatures average on a daily basis above 0 °C.
Anaerobic digestion: The process is conducted in the absence of air at residence times ranging from 60 days at 20 °C to 15 days at 35 to 55 °C, with a volatile solids reduction of at least 38 percent.
Composting: Using the within-vessel, static aerated pile or windrow composting methods, the solid waste is maintained at minimum operating conditions of 40 °C for 5 days. For four hours during this period the temperature exceeds 55 °C.
Lime Stabilization: Sufficient lime is added to produce a pH of 12 after 2 hours of contact.
Other methods: Other methods or operating conditions may be acceptable if pathogens and vector attraction of the waste (volatile solids) are reduced to an extent equivalent to the reduction achieved by any of the above methods.
B. Processes To Further Reduce Pathogens
Composting: Using the within-vessel composting method, the solid waste is maintained at operating conditions of 55 °C or greater for three days. Using the static aerated pile composting method, the solid waste is maintained at operating conditions of 55 °C or greater for three days. Using the windrow composting method, the solid waste attains a temperature of 55 °C or greater for at least 15 days during the composting period. Also, during the high temperature period, there will be a minimum of five turnings of the windrow.
Heat drying: Dewatered sludge cake is dried by direct or indirect contact with hot gases, and moisture content is reduced to 10 percent or lower. Sludge particles reach temperatures well in excess of 80 °C, or the wet bulb temperature of the gas stream in contact with the sludge at the point where it leaves the dryer is in excess of 80 °C.
Heat treatment: Liquid sludge is heated to temperatures of 180 °C for 30 minutes.
Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion: Liquid sludge is agitated with air or oxygen to maintain aerobic conditions at residence times of 10 days at 55-60 °C, with a volatile solids reduction of at least 38 percent.
Other methods: Other methods or operating conditions may be acceptable if pathogens and vector attraction of the waste (volatile solids) are reduced to an extent equivalent to the reduction achieved by any of the above methods.
Any of the processes listed below, if added to the processes described in Section A above, further reduce pathogens. Because the processes listed below, on their own, do not reduce the attraction of disease vectors, they are only add-on in nature.
Beta ray irradiation: Sludge is irradiated with beta rays from an accelerator at dosages of at least 1.0 megarad at room temperature (ca. 20 °C).
Gamma ray irradiation: Sludge is irradiated with gamma rays from certain isotopes, such as
60 Cobalt and
137 Cesium, at dosages of at least 1.0 megarad at room temperature (ca. 20 °C).
Pasteurization: Sludge is maintained for at least 30 minutes at a minimum temperature of 70 °C.
Other methods: Other methods or operating conditions may be acceptable if pathogens are reduced to an extent equivalent to the reduction achieved by any of the above add-on methods.