In addition to the positive effects on the physical, chemical and biological soil properties of the application of sewage sludge into the soil, there is often an increase of both organic and inorganic pollutants in the soil. One of the most popular organic xenobiotics frequently present in sewage sludge are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aim of this study is to determine possibilities fo...

Utilization of sewage sludge on land is an appealing sludge disposal method. The reasons are not just because of the environmental and economic constraints associated with other disposal methods such as incineration and landfilling, but also because the sludge is beneficial both as a soil conditioner and as a fertilizer [1,2]. However, the major limitation with land application of sewage sludge...

In order to better understand land application of sewage sludge, the characterization of heavy metals, PCDD/F and PAHs in sewage sludge was investigated from six different wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Beijing City, China. It was found that the total concentrations of Zn in Wujiacun (WJC) sewage sludge, and Cd and Hg in sewage sludge generated from all of the six different places are hi...

Sewage sludge is a complex mixture of inorganic and organic materials and pathogens generated by the treatment of domestic sewage. Section 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 503 regulates the land application of sewage sludge based on pathogen content and sets standards for nine inorganic chemicals. It is believed that the Part 503 standards are protective of human health and the enviro...

Problem statement: The chemical pollution of soil has become a major source of concern and has posed serious health problems within the last few years in many developed nations. A variety of organic and inorganic pollutants, including heavy metals, are being mixed in with the cultivated soil and water. Sewage sludge was one of the major sources of enrichment of heavy metals. These pollutants ar...

In this paper, an overview on sewage sludge characteristics and recovery routes is presented. Starting from an analysis of typical sewage sludge characteristics as found in literature, the most promising disposal options are presented. A focus on incinerated sewage sludge ash (ISSA) follows. Most of the authors agree on considering pyrolysis and gasification as the most viable treatments for sl...

The evolution of the pyrolysis of sewage sludge in a fixed and a fluidized bed was analyzed using a novel measuring technique. This original measuring technique consists of installing the whole reactor over a precision scale, capable of measuring the mass of the complete reactor with enough precision to detect the mass released by the sewage sludge sample during its pyrolysis. The inert conditi...

The fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sewage sludge after agricultural application was analysed. This study was based on the analysis of sewage sludge and sludge amended soil samples collected during 2005. PBDE concentrations in sewage sludge ranged from 197 to 1185ng/g dry weight (dw), being deca-BDE-209 the predominant congener. PBDE levels in soils ranged between 21 and 690ng...

A long-term experiment was carried out under field conditions in Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil, with the objective of evaluating the concentration of Ba in soil and in maize plants grown in a soil treated with sewage sludge for nine consecutive years. During 2005/2006, maize was used as test plants and the experimental design was in randomized complete blocks with four treatments and five replicates....

A study was completed to investigate temporal trends of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs; aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, heptachlor, hexachlorbenzene, and DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sewage sludge. Between 2004 and 2006 the concentration of OCPs and PCBs in Australian sewage sludge (n=829) was consistently <1000mugkg(-1) dry solids DS. Dieldrin, chlordane and DDE were detected in ...