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E. Smidt, V. Parravicini:
"Effect of sewage sludge treatment and additional aerobic post-stabilization";
Bioresource Technology, 100 (2009), 5; 1775 - 1780.

Sewage sludge samples representing different stages during waste water and sewage sludge treatment
were collected at four Austrian municipal waste water treatment plants. Changes of sludge composition
are reflected by a specific infrared spectroscopic pattern. Anaerobically digested sludge was subjected to
aeration in lab-scale reactors in order to find out if post-aeration after anaerobic digestion provides
enhanced organic matter degradation and stabilization. Spectral data were evaluated by means of multivariate
statistics. Similar spectral characteristics of sludge degradation stages were visualized by principal
component analysis. The effect of additional aerobic treatment of anaerobically stabilized sludge
was revealed by discriminant analysis that distinguishes additionally aerated sludge from all the other
degradation stages of sludge because of changes in the spectral pattern by increasing stabilization. Based
on partial least squares regression (PLSR) a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.91 was found between spectral
characteristics and the chemical oxygen demand (COD).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2008.10.003

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405854/description#description