Sewage sludge, generated post wastewater treatment, constitutes only a small percentage of the total amount of sewage treated, however, its sustainable management is inevitable. In this study, the energy recovery potential of sewage sludge by incineration and anaerobic digestion is investigated for India. The dewatered sludge has total solid content of 25–45% whereas, the primary characteristics of sewage sludge showed significant organic content of about ∼23–40% (dry basis). The calorific value was found to be 8–21 MJ/kg for sludge dry matter. The energy recovery potential of sewage sludge was 555–1068 kWh/tonne on sludge dry matter basis for incineration and 315–608 kWh/tonne for anaerobic digestion. Additionally, the energy recovery potential of current sewage treatment in India was found to be ∼15.3 × 10⁵ or 8.6 × 10⁵ MWh, annually for incineration and anaerobic digestion, respectively. The study had provided in depth view of sludge to be considered as energetic material and its energy recovery potential countrywide, which would not only help for give a proper direction for recovering energy but also helpful to deal with the issue of sludge management in India.

废水处理后产生的污泥仅占所处理污水总量的一小部分，但是，其可持续管理是不可避免的。在这项研究中，印度通过焚化和厌氧消化来研究污水污泥的能量回收潜力。脱水污泥的总固体含量为25–45％，而污水污泥的主要特征显示出约23–40％（干基）的显着有机物含量。发现污泥干物质的发热量为8-21 MJ / kg。以污泥干物质为基础，污泥的能量回收潜力为555-1068 kWh / t，厌氧消化的能量回收潜力为315-608 kWh / tonne。此外，目前印度污水处理的能量回收潜力约为15.3×10 ⁵ 每年分别用于焚化和厌氧消化的能量为8.6×10 ⁵ MWh。该研究深入分析了污泥被认为是高能材料及其在全国范围内的能量回收潜力，这不仅有助于为能源回收提供正确的指导，而且有助于解决印度的污泥管理问题。