The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective
Sewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment, is garnering increasing attention in the pursuit of closed-loop economy practices due to its highly beneficial fertilizing properties. However, like any technique, using sewage sludge as fertilizer has potential and limitations. Heavy metals withi...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/3/383 |
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| author | Agata Janaszek Alessandra Furtado da Silva Nebojša Jurišević Maria Kanuchova Ľubica Kozáková Robert Kowalik |
| author_facet | Agata Janaszek Alessandra Furtado da Silva Nebojša Jurišević Maria Kanuchova Ľubica Kozáková Robert Kowalik |
| author_sort | Agata Janaszek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment, is garnering increasing attention in the pursuit of closed-loop economy practices due to its highly beneficial fertilizing properties. However, like any technique, using sewage sludge as fertilizer has potential and limitations. Heavy metals within sewage sludge are a primary limitation curtailing its application as a fertilizer. This study collected sewage sludge samples from four wastewater treatment plants and soil from potential application sites. The mobility of heavy metals was then examined using a sequential BCR analysis. Furthermore, a comprehensive environmental risk assessment associated with the agricultural use of sewage sludge was conducted, using various risk indicators such as I<sub>geo</sub> and Nemerov, to compare the cumulative metal concentrations in the sewage sludge and soil. Additionally, risk assessment codes, ecological risk indices of metal mobility, and environmental risk indices were calculated, specifically focusing on the mobility of metals in the soil environment. This research demonstrates that sewage sludge failing to meet conventional criteria for agricultural use based on total metal content does not necessarily pose a high-risk application. Understanding the mobility forms of metals in sewage sludge is crucial, influencing the analysis of their potential utilization. Importantly, sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants utilizing biological bed technology tends to exhibit a higher tendency of heavy metals to exist in mobile forms, migrating within the soil environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:47:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f32142487e8240d09baac0ef0628197b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:47:23Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-f32142487e8240d09baac0ef0628197b2024-02-09T15:24:21ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412024-01-0116338310.3390/w16030383The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental PerspectiveAgata Janaszek0Alessandra Furtado da Silva1Nebojša Jurišević2Maria Kanuchova3Ľubica Kozáková4Robert Kowalik5Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Geomatics and Renewable Energy Kielce, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, PolandDepartment of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology-Paraná, Brazil (UTFPR), Avenida João Miguel Caram 3131, Jardim Morumbi, Londrina 86036-370, PR, BrazilDepartment for Energy and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, SerbiaFaculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Kosice, Letna 9, 042 00 Kosice, SlovakiaFaculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Kosice, Letna 9, 042 00 Kosice, SlovakiaFaculty of Environmental Engineering, Geomatics and Renewable Energy Kielce, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, PolandSewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment, is garnering increasing attention in the pursuit of closed-loop economy practices due to its highly beneficial fertilizing properties. However, like any technique, using sewage sludge as fertilizer has potential and limitations. Heavy metals within sewage sludge are a primary limitation curtailing its application as a fertilizer. This study collected sewage sludge samples from four wastewater treatment plants and soil from potential application sites. The mobility of heavy metals was then examined using a sequential BCR analysis. Furthermore, a comprehensive environmental risk assessment associated with the agricultural use of sewage sludge was conducted, using various risk indicators such as I<sub>geo</sub> and Nemerov, to compare the cumulative metal concentrations in the sewage sludge and soil. Additionally, risk assessment codes, ecological risk indices of metal mobility, and environmental risk indices were calculated, specifically focusing on the mobility of metals in the soil environment. This research demonstrates that sewage sludge failing to meet conventional criteria for agricultural use based on total metal content does not necessarily pose a high-risk application. Understanding the mobility forms of metals in sewage sludge is crucial, influencing the analysis of their potential utilization. Importantly, sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants utilizing biological bed technology tends to exhibit a higher tendency of heavy metals to exist in mobile forms, migrating within the soil environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/3/383heavy metalssewage sludgesoilpollution |
| spellingShingle | Agata Janaszek Alessandra Furtado da Silva Nebojša Jurišević Maria Kanuchova Ľubica Kozáková Robert Kowalik The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective Water heavy metals sewage sludge soil pollution |
| title | The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective |
| title_full | The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective |
| title_fullStr | The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective |
| title_short | The Assessment of Sewage Sludge Utilization in Closed-Loop Economy from an Environmental Perspective |
| title_sort | assessment of sewage sludge utilization in closed loop economy from an environmental perspective |
| topic | heavy metals sewage sludge soil pollution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/3/383 |
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