Production of Pellet Fuel Conversion from the Sludge Derived in Excipient Manufacturing at the Pharma Industry

Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) is a highly predominant excipient for pharma products and it is produced globally in a higher number of industries. The final state sludge discharged from the sequence of the Effluent Treatment Process (ETP) connected with the MCC production is a complex fluid with highly viscous cum non-Newtonian Rheological behavior and toxic organic material with microbial colonies. Once effluent is discharged from the production unit the step-by-step ETP produces various orders of increasing viscous fluids to sludge and finally removes a thick slurry state from the Agitated Thin Film Dryer (ATFD). In general, the final discharged sludge is taken into a dump yard or landfilling due to its hazardous nature. Though the sludge consists of resources for various energy and material recovery which can lead to a circular economy, further treatment processes can increase the possibility of various energy and material recovery. Since the raw material for the MCC production is from cellulose pulp the final discharged sludge has content with hazardous cellulose. Hence, in the present work, the chemical and biological toxicity are suppressed through the garbage-derived enzyme treatment and converted into pellets fuel form to dispose of the sludge as conservation of heat energy. This chapter deals with the qualitative reports on the possibilities of product (Pellet) derivation, problems encountered in conversion, and feasible solutions through the experimental assessment study on the sludge categorized from the pharma excipient regime.