Sewage sludge ash to phosphate fertilizer by chlorination and thermal treatment: residence time requirements for heavy metal removal.

Heavy metal removal from sewage sludge ash can be performed by mixing the ash with environmentally compatible chlorides (e.g. CaCl2 or MgCl2) and water, pelletizing the mixture and treating the pellets in a rotary reactor at about 1000 degrees C. Thermogravimetry-mass spectroscopy, muffle oven tests (500-1150 degrees C) and investigations in a laboratory-scale rotary reactor (950-1050 degrees C, residence time 1-25 min) were carried out. In the rotary reactor, up to 97% of Cu, 95% Pb and 95% Zn can be removed at 1050 degrees C. As Cl release starts from 400 degrees C (obtained from thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry experiments), heavy metals are already removed partially within the heating period. This heavy metal removal can be described as being similar to a first-order rate law. To meet the limit values specified in the Austrian and German fertilizer ordinances, residence times of the order of minutes are sufficient at 950 degrees C.