A study on the possibility of measuring sludge sedimentation using contrast detection characteristics of cds photoresistors

Although operators periodically measure the sludge volume index (SVI) to stabilize the bioreactor and solid–liquid separation during the wastewater treatment process, there is a problem of inconsistency attributed to the subjective judgment of the operator. This study aims to investigate the possibility of securing objective data by employing CdS (cadmium–sulfur) photoresistors for SVI measurements. The sedimentation velocity of settling sludge was measured using LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights at the same level as the installed CdS photoresistors. As a result of the experiment, the settling velocity of sludge in the CdS photoresistors’ installation position H1 to H8 (non-flocculent settling), H9 to H12 (discrete flocculent settling) and H13 to H18 (zone settling and compressive settling), was 0.594 mm/s, 0.180 mm/s and 0.056 mm/s, respectively. Through this study, it was confirmed that measuring sludge sedimentation using the CdS photoresistors is possible. If the measurement of solid matter in sludge using several sludge sedimentation measurements is enabled in the future, it will be possible to develop calculation algorithms to measure the SVI.