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Journal ArticleDOI

Utilization of sewage sludge in EU application of old and new methods—A review

01 Jan 2008-Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (Pergamon)-Vol. 12, Iss: 1, pp 116-140
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review past and future trends in sludge handling, focusing mainly at thermal processes (e.g. pyrolysis, wet oxidation, gasification) and the utilization of sewage sludge in cement manufacture as a co-fuel.
Abstract: The European Union has made progress in dealing with municipal wastewater in individual countries and as a corporate entity. However, it intends to make still further and substantial progress over the next 15 years. Currently, the most widely available options in the EU are the agriculture utilization, the waste disposal sites, the land reclamation and restoration, the incineration and other novel uses. The selection of an option on a local basis reflects local or national, cultural, historical, geographical, legal, political and economic circumstances. The degree of flexibility varies from country to country. In any case sludge treatment and disposal should always be considered as an integral part of treatment of wastewater. There is a wide range of other uses for sludge, which exploit its energy or chemical content, namely the thermal processes. The present paper sought to review past and future trends in sludge handling, focusing mainly at thermal processes (e.g. pyrolysis, wet oxidation, gasification) and the utilization of sewage sludge in cement manufacture as a co-fuel.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recycling different types of ashes for cement production has gained increasing attentions worldwide in a bid to close the waste loop and it was unveiled that pozzolanic contents were predominant which highly fluctuated in their composition based on the ash type, limiting the replacement at maximum of 5-10 wt%.

115 citations


Cites background or methods from "Utilization of sewage sludge in EU ..."

  • ...…of the best methods of sewage sludge disposal is incineration since it achieves large 212 reduction of volume, odor minimization and thermal destruction of toxic organic compounds 213 (Fytili and Zabaniotou, 2008; Khiari et al., 2004), leaving approximately 30% of the solid remain 214 as SSA....

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  • ...SSA has been used to manufacture bricks, to incorporate into concrete mixtures and as a 215 fine aggregate in mortar (Fytili and Zabaniotou, 2008)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Considering the possible use of SSA as secondary raw material for fertilizer production it should be noted that its Cd and U content is significantly lower than that of rock phosphate based mineral fertilizers.
Abstract: The amount of sewage sludge produced worldwide is expected to further increase due to rising efforts in wastewater treatment. There is a growing concern against its direct use as fertilizer due to contamination of the sludge with heavy metals and organic pollutants. Incinerating the sludge degrades organic compounds almost completely and concentrates heavy metals and phosphorus. However, the sewage sludge ash (SSA) is almost completely disposed of and with it all resources are removed from the economic cycle. Comprehensive knowledge of the composition of SSA is crucial to assess the resource recovery potentials. We conducted a survey of all SSA emerging in Germany and determined the respective mass fractions of 57 elements over a period of one year. The median content of phosphorus was 7.9%, indicating an important recovery potential. Important trace elements were Zn (2.5 g/kg), Mn (1.3 g/kg), and Cu (0.9 g/kg). Mass fractions of technology metals such as V, Cr, Ga, Nb, and rare earths were comparatively ...

115 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper describes the development and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of 148 substances in sewage sludge belonging to different classes of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and antidepressants, among others, and illicit drugs.
Abstract: This paper describes the development and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of 148 substances in sewage sludge. The selected compounds belong to different classes of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and antidepressants, among others, and illicit drugs, including opiates, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabinoids, and their metabolites. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first method in the peer-reviewed literature covering such a large number of target drugs for determination in a complex matrix like sewage sludge. The method presented herein combines ultrasound-assisted extraction (USE) and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Good analytical performance was achieved, with limit-of-detection values below 10 ng g−1 d.w. for 91 % of the analytes and absolute recovery in the range 50–110 % for more than 77 % of the studied compounds. A combination of methanol and acidified water, also containing EDTA, proved to be the optimum solvent mixture to perform the extractions. An extra solid-phase-extraction clean-up step was not required, substantially reducing sample-preparation time and solvent consumption. Finally, the developed method was applied to the analysis of different sewage-sludge samples from five wastewater treatment plants of Santorini Island (Greece). Out of the 148 target compounds, 36 were detected. Several compounds, including acetylsalicylic acid, citalopram, and ciprofloxacin among others, had maximum concentrations above 100 ng g−1 d.w.

114 citations


Cites background from "Utilization of sewage sludge in EU ..."

  • ...Several analytical methods for the determination of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs have been developed and their presence has been widely assessed in surface water, sediments, and wastewater [4, 9, 10], revealing relevant levels of these compounds....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an exhaustive list of sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) production from vast literature has compiled, and their characterization, application, quantification with risk assessment approach, impact on climate change, life cycle and cost analysis have been presented.

113 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: La-coated biochar at a pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C had the highest phosphate adsorption and the lowest heavy metal leaching potential, suggesting that the sludge-based biochar could serve as a promising adsorbent for phosphate in real applications.

113 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an analytical procedure involving sequential chemicai extractions was developed for the partitioning of particulate trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn) into five fractions: exchangeable, bound to carbonates, binding to Fe-Mn oxides and bound to organic matter.
Abstract: An analytical procedure involving sequential chemicai extractions has been developed for the partitioning of particulate trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn) into five fractions: exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to Fe-Mn oxides, bound to organic matter, and residual. Experimental results obtained on replicate samples of fluvial bottom sediments demonstrate that the relative standard deviation of the sequential extraction procedure Is generally better than =10%. The accuracy, evaluated by comparing total trace metal concentrations with the sum of the five Individual fractions, proved to be satisfactory. Complementary measurements were performed on the Individual leachates, and on the residual sediments following each extraction, to evaluate the selectivity of the various reagents toward specific geochemical phases. An application of the proposed method to river sediments is described, and the resulting trace metal speciation is discussed.

10,518 citations


"Utilization of sewage sludge in EU ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Over the last decades, a great variety of extraction schemes, both simple and sequential have been developed and, although some methods have been widely used [12,13] none has been unreservedly accepted by the scientific community....

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Book
01 Jan 1972
TL;DR: Wastewater Engineering: An Overview of Wastewater Engineering, Methods and Implementation Considerations as mentioned in this paper is a good starting point for a discussion of the issues of wastewater engineering. But, it is not a complete survey of the entire literature.
Abstract: Wastewater Engineering: An Overview. Wastewater Flowrates. Wastewater Characteristics. Wastewater Treatment Objective, Methods, and Implementation Considerations. Introduction to Wastewater Treatment Plant Design. Physical Unit Operations. Chemical Unit Processes. Biological Unit Processes. Design of Facilities for Physical and Chemical Treatment of Wastewater. Design of Facilities for the Biological Treatment of Wastewater. Advanced Wastewater Treatment. Design of Facilities for the Treatment and Disposal of Sludge. Natural-Treatment Systems. Small Wastewater Treatment Systems. Management of Wastewater from Combined Sewers. Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse.

3,826 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the current and future issues related to the combustion of sewage sludge is presented, and a number of technologies for thermal processing of sludge are discussed in three groups, i.e., mono-combustion, cocombustions and alternative processes.

1,026 citations


"Utilization of sewage sludge in EU ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Multiple hearth and fluidized bed furnaces are the most popular and the latter is becoming widely applied [24]....

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  • ...Analysis has shown that about 78–98% of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn present in the sewage sludge are retained in the ash, whereas up to 98% of the Hg may be released into the atmosphere with the flue gas [24]....

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  • ...The whole process is occurring in two distinctive regimes [24]:...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a standardization with respect to grain size effects, commonly achieved by analyzing the sieve fraction <63μm, which is used to pin point major sources of metal pollution and to estimate the toxicity potential of dredged materials.
Abstract: Sediment analyses are used to pin‐point major sources of metal pollution and to estimate the toxicity potential of dredged materials on agricultural land. For source assessments (Part I of the present review) standardization is needed with respect to grain size effects, commonly achieved by analyzing the sieve fraction <63μm. Further aspects include sampling methods, evaluation of background data and extent of anthropogenic metal enrichment.

530 citations