An apparatus for sludge thickening including a sludge thickener allowing suspended solids of sludge supplied thereto to settle by their own weight while being thickened. The sludge supplied to the sludge thickener is subjected to aeration for a predetermined period of time in a sludge aerator. Aeration of the sludge strips the anaerobic gas, which is attached to the suspended solids in the form of bubbles or dissolved in the sludge, to atmosphere. By aeration of the sludge before being fed to the sludge thickener, floating of the thickened sludge in the thickener can be avoided.

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