Anaerobic Digestion of Pulp and Paper Mill Biosludge

Although anaerobic digestion (AD) is becoming a widely accepted technology to treat municipal wastewater biosludge, or waste activated sludge, and various other organic waste streams, it is still not utilized in the pulp and paper industry. The pulp and paper industry generates large amounts of wastewater through their processes; however, the characteristics of pulp and paper mill biosludge is quite different compared to municipal biosludge and present many challenges in terms of AD. In this study, the feasibility of using thermal treatment to enhance AD performance was examined. The research was carried out from 2013-2015 at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. D. Grant Allen and Prof. Elizabeth Edwards.