Destroying the structure of extracellular polymeric substance to improve the dewatering performance of waste activated sludge by ionic liquid

The disposal and resource utilization of waste activated sludge (WAS) is a big challenge for its high moisture content. Ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([EMIM][OTf]), was innovatively used as a conditioner to improve the dewatering performance of WAS. The WAS was characterized by flocs size, three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM), zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy...