In Australia, over 300,000 dry tonnes of biosolids are produced and millions of dollars expended for their management annually. Biosolids are the end product and the main solid component collected from the wastewater treatment process. In this study, some of the geotechnical properties of two biosolids samples from the Eastern Wastewater Treatment Plant (ETP) and Western Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) in Melbourne were investigated. Laboratory tests, including liquid limit, plastic limit, particle density, particle size distribution, organic content, linear shrinkage, and chemical analysis were undertaken to evaluate the properties of each biosolids sample. The compaction characteristics of the ETP biosolids combined with different percentages of clayey sand were investigated, to gauge the suitability for use as possible construction and road materials. This paper presents some of the results of this ongoing investigation.
ANZ Conference