Utilization of sewage sludge in EU application of old and new methods—A review
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.
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TL;DR: In this article, the most sensitive soil quality indicators and assess soil quality after long-term application of sewage sludge (SS) and conventional mineral fertilization for rainfed cereal production in a sub-humid Mediterranean calcareous soil.
Abstract: The aim of this work was to identify the most sensitive soil quality indicators and assess soil quality after long-term application of sewage sludge (SS) and conventional mineral fertilization for rainfed cereal production in a sub-humid Mediterranean calcareous soil. The treatments included six combinations of SS at different doses (40 t ha−1 and 80 ha−1) and frequencies (every 1, 2 and 4 years), plus a control with mineral fertilization, and a baseline control without fertilization. Twenty-five years after the onset of the experiment, 37 pre-selected physical, chemical and biological soil parameters were measured, and a minimum data set was determined. Among these indicators, those significantly affected by treatment and depth were selected as sensitive. A principal component analysis (PCA) was then performed for each studied depth. At 0–15 cm, PCA identified three factors (F1, F2 and F3), and at 15–30 cm, two factors (F4 and F5) that explained 71.5% and 67.4% of the variation, respectively, in the soil parameters. The most sensitive indicators (those with the highest correlation within each factor) were related to nutrients (P and N), organic matter, and trace metals (F1 and F4), microporosity (F2), earthworm activity (F3), and exchangeable cations (F5). Only F3 correlated significantly (and negatively) with yield. From these results, we concluded that soil quality can be affected in opposite directions by SS application, and that a holistic approach is needed to better assess soil functioning under SS fertilization in this type of agrosystem.
3 citations
Dissertation•
18 Sep 2017
TL;DR: The application of this approach to estimate drug use at the community level through the concentrations of the drugs themselves or their major metabolites in wastewater is described to investigate the latest drug consumption patterns and trends in the European city of Barcelona.
Abstract: Illicit and legal drugs of abuse, including alcohol, continue to be in the focus of many governmental national and international studies due to the important consequences of their consumption at both individual and social level. Estimation of drug use at the community level through the concentrations of the drugs themselves or their major metabolites in wastewater has become an increasingly accepted and extended tool, complementary to the methods traditionally used for this purpose. The present work describes the application of this approach, generally known as sewage epidemiology, to investigate the latest drug consumption patterns and trends in the European city of Barcelona. To this end, a total of 19 selected drugs of abuse and metabolites were monitored at the inlet of one of the main wastewater treatment plants of Barcelona every day during one week in March between 2011 and 2015. Analysis of the selected drugs and metabolites in the wastewater samples was performed by means of two methodologies based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and the concentrations obtained were translated into consumption data. In agreement with official records, alcohol, followed by cannabis,
3 citations
Book•
28 Jun 2013TL;DR: In this paper, a two-step approach to non-petroleum raw materials utilization is presented; the first step involves production of supply or producer gas, which is akin to synthesis gas containing carbon oxides, hydrogen, and simple hydrocarbons.
Abstract: Recycling human metabolic and plastic wastes minimizes cost and increases efficiency by reducing the need to transport consumables and return trash, respectively, from orbit to support a space station crew. If the much larger costs of transporting consumables to the Moon and beyond are taken into account, developing waste recycling technologies becomes imperative and possibly mission enabling. Reduction of terrestrial waste streams while producing energy and/or valuable raw materials is an opportunity being realized by a new generation of visionary entrepreneurs; several relevant technologies are briefly compared, contrasted and assessed for space applications. A two-step approach to nonpetroleum raw materials utilization is presented; the first step involves production of supply or producer gas. This is akin to synthesis gas containing carbon oxides, hydrogen, and simple hydrocarbons. The second step involves production of fuel via the Sabatier process, a methanation reaction, or another gas-to-liquid technology, typically Fischer-Tropsch processing. Optimization to enhance the fraction of product stream relevant to transportation fuels via catalytic (process) development at NASA Glenn Research Center is described. Energy utilization is a concern for production of fuels whether for operation on the lunar or Martian surface, or beyond. The term green relates to not only mitigating excess carbon release but also to the efficiency of energy usage. For space, energy usage can be an essential concern. Another issue of great concern is minimizing impurities in the product stream(s), especially those that are potential health risks and/or could degrade operations through catalyst poisoning or equipment damage; technologies being developed to remove heteroatom impurities are discussed. Alternative technologies to utilize waste fluids, such as a propulsion option called the resistojet, are discussed. The resistojet is an electric propulsion technology with a powered thruster to vaporize and heat a propellant to high temperature, hot gases are subsequently passed through a converging-diverging nozzle expanding gases to supersonic velocities. A resistojet can accommodate many different fluids, including various reaction chamber (by-)products.
3 citations
TL;DR: The study findings indicate that the use of sewage sludge in agriculture can cause secondary multi-trace element deficiencies in ruminants, and care should be taken when crops are ensilaged avoiding top-soil sewageSludge contamination, since the acidification process may greatly increase Fe bioavailability.
Abstract: Recycling sewage sludge by applying it to agricultural land is strategically important in the European Union and is regulated by Directive 86/278/EEC, aimed at protecting the soil and humans from the presence of unwanted substances. However, because of the ruminant feeding habits, there is a risk that animals grazed on pasture or fed crops grown on land treated in this way may ingest biosolids adhered to foliage and/or on the top soil. This paper describes an episode of toxicity in a dairy herd consuming silage from a field fertilized with sewage sludge produced in a wastewater treatment plant. The affected cows were recumbent, unable to rise and suffered diarrhoea. Analysis of tissues (fresh weight) from a cow that subsequently died revealed severe hepatic iron loading (6720 mg/kg) and secondary multi-trace element hepatic deficiency, particularly of copper (0.812 mg/kg) and manganese (0.436 mg/kg), but also selenium (0.164 mg/kg) and zinc (19.9 mg/kg). The study findings indicate that the use of sewage sludge in agriculture can cause secondary multi-trace element deficiencies in ruminants. Careful attention should be taken when crops are ensilaged avoiding top-soil sewage sludge contamination, since the acidification process may greatly increase Fe bioavailability.
3 citations
TL;DR: The experimental results revealed that performance of solids in the anaerobic reduction of tartrazine dye can depend on several factors including chemical agents, carbonization, microbial population, chemical groups and surface chemistry, and a cost-effective sludge-based catalyst can be produced from harmful sewage sludge for the treatment of industrial effluents.
Abstract: Two highly efficient (K2CO3/sludge carbon and ZnCl2/sludge carbon) solids were prepared by chemical addition following carbonization at 800 °C and were tested for anaerobic reduction of tartrazine dye in a continuous upflow packed-bed biological reactor, and their performance was compared to that of commercial activated carbon (CAC) The chemical and structural information of the solids was subjected to various characterizations in order to understand the mechanism for anaerobic decolorization, and efficiency for SBCZN800 and SBCPC800 materials was 87% and 74%, respectively, at a short space time (τ) of 20 min A first-order kinetic model fitted the experimental points and kinetic constants of 040, 092 and 146 min−1 were obtained for SBCZN800, SBCPC800 and CAC, respectively The experimental results revealed that performance of solids in the anaerobic reduction of tartrazine dye can depend on several factors including chemical agents, carbonization, microbial population, chemical groups and surface ch
3 citations
Cites background from "Utilization of sewage sludge in EU ..."
...Available disposal practices such as agriculture use, incineration, landfill, fertilizer and other applications are still facing several environmental problems.[14] These huge amounts of sludge solid residues are available at low cost....
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References
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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
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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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